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JAPANESE   GIRLS   AND 
WOMEN 


BY 


ALICE   MABEL   BACON 


BOSTON   AND   NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND   COMPANY 

Eit  0tber£tfcJt  $re££,  Cambridge 

1804 


Copyright,  1891, 
By  ALICE  MABEL  BACON. 

All  rights  reserved. 


SEVENTH   EDITION. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.  JS.  A. 
"Eiectrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  &  Co. 


To 
STEMATZ,  THE  COUNTESS  OYAMA, 

IN  THE   NAME   OF   OUR   GIRLHOOD'S   FRIENDSHIP,    UNCHANGED   AND 

UNSHAKEN   BY  THE  CHANGES   AND   SEPARATIONS  OF  OUR 

MATURER  YEARS, 

STfjte  IToIume 
IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED. 


PREFACE, 


It  seems  necessary  for  a  new  author  to 
give  some  excuse  for  her  boldness  in  offer- 
ing to  the  public  another  volume  upon  a 
subject  already  so  well  written  up  as  Japan, 
In  a  field  occupied  by  Griffis,  Morse,  Greey, 
Lowell,  and  Rein,  what  unexplored  corner 
can  a  woman  hope  to  enter?  This  is  the 
question  that  will  be  asked,  and  that  ac- 
cordingly the  author  must  answer. 

While  Japan  as  a  whole  has  been  closely 
studied,  and  while  much  and  varied  infor- 
mation has  been  gathered  about  the  coun- 
try and  its  people,  one  half  of  the  popu- 
lation has  been  left  entirely  unnoticed, 
passed  over  with  brief  mention,  or  alto- 
gether misunderstood.  It  is  of  this  neg- 
lected half  that  I  have  written,  in  the  hope 
that  the  whole  fabric  of  Japanese  social 


vi  PREFACE. 

life  will  be  better  comprehended  when  the 
women  of  the  country,  and  so  the  homes 
that  they  make,  are  better  known  and 
understoodo 

The  reason  why  Japanese  home-life  is 
so  little  understood  by  foreigners,  even  by 
those  who  have  lived  long  in  Japan,  is 
that  the  Japanese,  under  an  appearance  of 
frankness  and  candor,  hides  an  impene- 
trable reserve  in  regard  to  all  those  per- 
sonal concerns  which  he  believes  are  not 
in  the  remotest  degree  the  concerns  of  his 
foreign  guest.  Only  life  in  the  home  itself 
can  show  what  a  Japanese  home  may  be; 
and  only  by  intimate  association  —  such  as 
no  foreign  man  can  ever  hope  to  gain  — 
with  the  Japanese  ladies  themselves  can 
much  be  learned  of  the  thoughts  and  daily 
lives  of  the  best  Japanese  women. 

I  have  been  peculiarly  fortunate  in  hav- 
ing enjoyed  the  privilege  of  long  and  inti- 
mate friendship  with  a  number  of  Japanese 
ladies,  who  have  spoken  with  me  as  freely, 
and  shown  the  details  of  their  lives  to  me 


PBEFACE.  Vil 

as  openly,  as  if  bound  by  closest  ties  of  kin- 
dred. Through  them,  and  only  through 
them,  I  have  been  enabled  to  study  life 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  refined  and 
intelligent  Japanese  women,  and  have  found 
the  study  so  interesting  and  instructive 
that  I  have  felt  impelled  to  offer  to  oth- 
ers some  part  of  what  I  have  received 
through  the  aid  of  these  friends.  I  have, 
moreover,  been  encouraged  in  my  work 
by  reading,  when  it  was  already  more  than 
half  completed,  the  following  words  from 
Griffis's  "  Mikado's  Empire  :  "  — 

"  The  whole  question  of  the  position  of 
Japanese  women  —  in  history,  social  life, 
education,  employments,  authorship,  art, 
marriage,  concubinage,  prostitution,  benev- 
olent labor,  the  ideals  of  literature,  popu- 
lar superstitions,  etc.  —  discloses  such  a 
wide  and  fascinating  field  of  inquiry  that 
I  wonder  no  one  has  as  yet  entered  it." 

In  closing,  I  should  say  that  this  work 
is  by  no  means  entirely  my  own.  It  is,  in 
the  first  place,  largely  the  result  of  the  in- 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

terchange  of  thought  through  many  and 
long  conversations  with  Japanese  ladies 
upon  the  topics  herein  treated.  It  has 
also  been  carefully  revised  and  criticised ; 
and  many  valuable  additions  have  been 
made  to  it  by  Miss  Ume  Tsuda,  teacher 
of  English  in  the  Peeresses'  School  in 
Tokyo,  and  an  old  and  intimate  friend. 
Miss  Tsuda  is  at  present  in  this  country, 
on  a  two  years'  leave,  for  purposes  of 
further  study.  She  has,  amid  her  many 
duties  as  a  student  at  Brvn  Mawr  Col- 
lege, given  much  time  and  thought  to 
this  work;  and  a  large  part  of  whatever 
value  it  may  possess  is  due  to  her. 

I  would  say,  too,  that  in  the  verification 
of  dates,  names,  and  historical  incidents,  I 
have  relied  altogether  upon  Griffis's  "Mi- 
kado's Empire"  and  Rein's  "Japan," 
knowing  that  those  two  authors  represent 
the  best  that  has  been  done  by  foreigners 
in  the  field  of  Japanese  history. 

This  work  also  owes  much,  not  only  to 
the  suggestions  and    historical   aids  con- 


PREFACE.  IX 

tained  in  the   "  Mikado's  Empire/'  but  to 

Mr.  Griffis  himself,  for  his  careful  reading 

of  my  manuscript,  and  for  his  criticisms  and 

suggestions.     No    greater  encouragement 

can  be  given   to  an  inexperienced  author 

than  the  helpful  criticism  of  one  who  has 

already  distinguished  himself  in  the  same 

field  of  labor ;  and  for  just  such  friendly 

aid  my  warmest  thanks  are  due  to   Mr. 

Griffis. 

A.  M.  B. 

Hampton,  Ya.,  February,  1891. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.   Childhood     . 1 

II.   Education 37 

III.   Marriage  and  Divorce      .        .        .        .57 

IY.   Wife  and  Mother 84 

V.   Old  Age 119 

VI.   Court  Life .138 

VII.   Life  in  Castle  and  Yashtki     .        .        .  169 

VIII.  Samurai  Women 196 

IX.   Peasant  Women 228 

X.   Life  in  the  Cities 262 

XI.   Domestic  Service 299 

Epilogue 327 


JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHILDHOOD. 

To  the  Japanese  baby  the  beginning1  of 
life  is  not  very  different  from  its  beginning 
to  babies  in  the  Western  world.  Its  birth, 
whether  it  be  girl  or  boy,  is  the  cause  of 
much  rejoicing.  As  boys  alone  can  carry 
on  the  family  name  and  inherit  titles  and 
estates,  they  are  considered  of  more  impor- 
tance, but  many  a  mother's  heart  is  made 
glad  by  the  addition  of  a  daughter  to  the 
family  circle. 

As  soon  as  the  event  takes  place,  a  spe- 
cial messenger  is  dispatched  to  notify  rel- 
atives and  intimate  friends,  while  formal 
letters  of  announcement  are  sent  to  those 
less  closely  related.  All  persons  thus  noti- 
fied must  make  an  early  visit  to  the  new- 
comer, in    order   to  welcome  it   into   the 


2         JAPANESE  GIELS  AND  WOMEN. 

world,  and  must  either  take  with  them  or 
send  before  them  some  present.  Toys, 
pieces  of  cotton,  silk,  or  crepe  for  the  baby's 
dress  are  regarded  as  suitable  ;  and  these 
must  be  accompanied  by  dried  fish  or  eggs, 
for  good  luck.  Where  eggs  are  sent,  they 
are  neatly  arranged  in  a  covered  box,  which 
may  contain  thirty,  forty,  or  even  one  hun- 
dred eggs.1  The  baby,  especially  if  it  be 
the  first  one  in  a  family,  receives  many 
presents  in  the  first  few  weeks  of  its  life, 
and  at  a  certain  time  proper  acknowledg- 
ment must  be  made  and  return  presents 
sent.  This  is  usually  done  when  the  baby 
is  thirty  days  old. 

Both  baby  and  mother  have  a  hard  time 
of  it  for  the  first  few  weeks  of  its  life.  The 
baby  is  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  fussed 
over,  and  talked  to  so  much  by  the  visitors 
that  come  in,  that  it  must  think  this  world 
a  trying  place.  The  mother,  too,  is  denied 
the  rest  and  quiet  she   needs,  and  wears 

1  All  presents  in  Japan  must  be  wrapped  in  white 
paper,  although,  except  for  funerals,  this  paper  must 
have  some  writing  on  it,  and  must  be  tied  with  a  peculiar 
red  and  white  paper  string",  in  which  is  inserted  the 
noshi,  or  bit  of  dried  fish,  daintily  folded  in  a  piece  of  col- 
ored paper,  which  is  an  indispensable  accompaniment  of 
every  present. 


CHILDHOOD.  3 

herself  out  in  the  excitement  of  seeing  her 
friends,  and  the  physical  exercise  of  going 
through,  so  far  as  possible,  the  ceremo- 
nious bows  and  salutations  that  etiquette 
prescribes. 

On  the  seventh  day  the  baby  receives  its 
name.1  There  is  no  especial  ceremony 
conuected  with  this,  except  that  the  child's 
birth  is  formally  registered,  together  with 
its  name,  at  the  district  office  of  registra- 
tion, and  the  household  keep  holiday  in 
honor  of  the  event.  A  certain  kind  of  rice, 
cooked  with  red  beans,  a  festival  dish 
denoting  good  fortune,  is  usually  partaken 
of  by  the  family  on  this  occasion. 

The  next  important  event  in  the  baby's 
life  is  the  miya  maeri,  a  ceremony  which 

1  A  child  is  rarely  given  the  name  of  a  living  member 
of  the  family,  or  of  any  friend.  The  father's  name, 
slightly  modified,  is  frequently  given  to  a  son,  and  those 
of  ancestors  long  ago  dead  are  sometimes  used.  One 
reason  for  this  is  probably  the  inconvenience  of  similar 
names  in  the  same  family,  and  middle  names,  as  a  way 
of  avoiding  this  difficulty,  are  unknown.  The  father 
usually  names  the  child,  but  some  friend  or  patron  of 
the  family  may  be  asked  to  do  it.  Names  of  beautiful 
objects  in  nature,  such  as  Plum,  Snow,  Sunshine,  Lotos, 
Gold,  are  commonly  used  for  girls,  while  boys  of  the 
lower  classes  often  rejoice  in  such  appellations  as  Stone, 
Bear,  Tiger,  etc.  To  call  a  child  after  a  person  would 
not  be  considered  any  especial  compliment. 


4  JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

corresponds  roughly  with  our  christen- 
ing. On  the  thirtieth  day  after  birth, 
the  baby  is  taken  for  its  first  visit  to  the 
temple.  For  this  visit  great  preparations 
are  made,  and  the  baby  is  dressed  in  finest 
silk  or  crepe,  gayly  figured,  —  garments 
made  especially  for  the  occasion.  Upon 
the  dress  appears  in  various  places  the 
crest  of  the  family,  as  on  all  ceremonial 
dresses,  whether  for  young  or  old,  for 
every  Japanese  family  has  its  crest.  Thus 
arrayed,  and  accompanied  by  members  of 
the  family,  the  young  baby  is  carried  to  one 
of  the  Shinto  temples,  and  there  placed 
under  the  protection  of  the  patron  deity  of 
the  temple.  This  god,  chosen  from  a  great 
number  of  Shinto  deities,  is  supposed  to 
become  the  special  guardian  of  the  child 
through  life.  Offerings  are  made  to  the 
god  and  to  the  priest,  and  a  blessing  is 
obtained  ;  and  the  baby  is  thus  formally 
placed  under  the  care  of  a  special  deity. 
This  ceremony  over,  there  is  usually  an 
entertainment  of  some  kind  at  the  home  of 
the  parents,  especially  if  the  family  be  one 
of  high  rank.  Friends  are  invited,  and  if 
there  are  any  who  have  not  as  yet  sent 
in  presents,  they  may  give  them  at  this 
time. 


CHILDHOOD.  5 

It  is  usually  on  this  day  that  the  family 
send  to  their  friends  some  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  presents  received.  This  some- 
times consists  of  the  red  bean  rice,  such 
as  is  prepared  for  the  seventh  day  cele- 
bration, and  sometimes  of  cakes  of  mochi, 
or  rice  paste.  A  letter  of  thanks  usually 
accompanies  the  return  present.  If  rice 
is  sent,  it  is  put  in  a  handsome  lacquered 
box,  the  box  placed  on  a  lacquered  tray, 
and  the  whole  covered  with  a  square  of 
crepe  or  silk,  richly  decorated.  The  box, 
the  tray,  and  the  cover  are  of  course  re- 
turned, and,  curious  to  say,  the  box  must 
be  returned  unwashed,  as  it  would  be  very 
unlucky  to  send  it  back  clean.  A  piece 
of  Japanese  paper  must  be  slipped  into  the 
box  after  its  contents  have  been  removed, 
and  box  and  tray  must  be  given  back,  just 
as  they  are,  to  the  messenger.  Sometimes 
a  box  of  eggs,  or  a  peculiar  kind  of  dried 
fish,  called  katsuobashi,  is  sent  with  this 
present,  when  it  is  desired  to  make  an  es- 
pecially handsome  return.  When  as  many 
as  fifty  or  one  hundred  return  presents 
of  this  kind  are  to  be  sent,  it  is  no  slight 
tax  on  the  mistress  of  the  house  to  see 
that  no  one  is  forgotten,  and  that  all  is 


6  JAPANESE  GIKLS  AND   WOMEN. 

properly  done.  As  special  messengers  are 
sent,  a  number  of  men  are  sometimes  kept 
busy  for  two  or  three  days. 

After  all  these  festivities,  a  quiet,  undis- 
turbed life  begins  for  the  baby,  — a  life 
which  is  neither  unpleasant  nor  unhealth- 
ful.  It  is  not  jolted,  rocked,  or  trotted  to 
sleep;  it  is  allowed  to  cry  if  it  chooses, 
without  anybody's  supposing  that  the 
world  will  come  to  an  end  because  of  its 
crying;  and  its  dress  is  loose  and  easily  put 
on,  so  that  very  little  time  is  spent  in  the 
tiresome  process  of  dressing  and  undress- 
ing. Under  these  conditions  the  baby 
thrives  and  grows  strong  and  fat ;  learns  to 
take  life  with  some  philosophy,  even  at  a 
very  early  age ;  and  is  not  subject  to  fits 
of  hysterical  or  passionate  crying,  brought 
on  by  much  jolting  or  trotting,  or  by  the 
wearisome  process  of  pinning,  buttoning, 
tying  of  strings,  and  thrusting  of  arms 
into  tight  sleeves. 

The  Japanese  baby's  dress,  though  not 
as  pretty  as  that  of  our  babies,  is  in  many 
ways  much  more  sensible.  It  consists  of 
as  many  wide-sleeved,  straight,  silk,  cotton, 
or  flannel  garments  as  the  season  of  the 
year  may  require,  —  all  cut   after  exactly 


CHILDHOOD.  7 

the  same  pattern,  and  that  pattern  the 
same  in  shape  as  the  grown-up  kimono. 
These  garments  are  fitted,  one  inside  of 
the  other,  before  they  are  put  on ;  then 
they  are  laid  down  on  the  floor  and  the 
baby  is  laid  into  them ;  a  soft  belt,  attached 
to  the  outer  garment  or  dress,  is  'tied 
around  the  waist,  and  the  baby  is  dressed 
without  a  shriek  or  a  wail,  as  simply  and 
easily  as  possible.  The  baby's  dresses,  like 
those  of  our  babies,  are  made  long  enough 
to  cover  the  little  bare  feet ;  and  the 
sleeves  cover  the  hands  as  well,  so  pre- 
venting the  unmerciful  scratching  that 
most  babies  give  to  their  faces,  as  well  as 
keeping  the  hands  warm  and  dry. 

Babies  of  the  lower  classes,  within  a  few 
weeks  after  birth,  are  carried  about  tied 
upon  the  back  of  some  member  of  the  fam- 
ily, frequently  an  older  sister  or  brother, 
who  is  sometimes  not  more  than  five  or 
six  years  old.  The  poorer  the  family,  the 
earlier  is  the  young  baby  thus  put  on  some 
one's  back,  and  one  frequently  sees  babies 
not  more  than  a  month  old,  with  bobbing 
heads  and  blinking  eyes,  tied  by  long  bauds 
of  cloth  to  the  backs  of  older  brothers  or 
sisters,   and   living   in   the   streets   in  all 


8         JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

weathers.     When   it   is   cold,  the  sister's 
haori,  or  coat,  serves  as  an  extra  covering 
for  the  baby  as  well ;  and  when  the  sun  is 
hot,  the  sister's  parasol  keeps  off  its  rays 
from  the  bobbing   bald   head.     Living  in 
public,    as    the   Japanese   babies  do,  they 
soon  acquire  an  intelligent,  interested  look, 
and  seem  to  enjoy  the  games  of  the  elder 
children,  upon  whose  backs  they  are  car- 
ried, as  much   as  the  players  themselves. 
Babies  of  the  middle  classes  do  not  live  in 
public  in  this  way,  but  ride  about  upon  the 
backs   of  their   nurses   until  they  are  old 
enough  to  toddle  by  themselves,  and  they 
are  not  so  often   seen   in  the  streets ;  as 
few  but  the  poorest  Japanese,  even  in  the 
large  cities,  are  unable  to  have  a  pleasant 
bit  of  garden  in  which  the  children   can 
play  and  take  the  air.     The  children  of  the 
richest  families,  the  nobility,  and  the  im- 
perial family,  are  never  carried   about   in 
this  way.     The  young  child  is  borne  in  the 
arms    of  an    attendant,  within    doors  and 
without ;  but  as  this  requires  the  care  of 
some   one   constantly,    and    prevents    the 
nurse  from  doing  anything  but  care  for  the 
child,   only   the   richest   can     afford    this 
luxury.     With  the  baby  tied  to  her  back,  a 


CHILDHOOD.  9 

woman  is  able  to  care  for  a  child,  and  yet 
go  on  with  her  household  labors,  and  baby 
watches  over  mother's  or  nurse's  shoulder, 
between  naps  taken  at  all  hours,  the  pro- 
cesses of  drawing  water,  washing  and 
cooking  rice,  and  all  the  varied  work  of  the 
house.  Imperial  babies  are  held  in  the 
arms  of  some  one  night  and  day,  from  the 
moment  of  birth  until  they  have  learned 
to  walk,  a  custom  which  seems  to  render 
the  lot  of  the  high-born  infant  less  com- 
fortable in  some  ways  than  that  of  the  ple- 
beian child. 

The  flexibilitv  of  the  knees,  which  is  re- 
quired  for  comfort  in  the  Japanese  method 
of  sitting,  is  gained  in  very  early  youth  by 
the  habit  of  setting  a  baby  down  with  its 
knees  bent  under  it,  instead  of  with  its 
legs  out  straight  before  it,  as  seems  to  us 
the  natural  way.  To  the  Japanese,  the 
normal  way  for  a  baby  to  sit  is  with  its 
kuees  bent  under  it,  and  so,  at  a  very  early 
age,  the  muscles  and  tendons  of  the  knees 
are  accustomed  to  what  seems  to  us  a  most 
unnatural  and  uncomfortable  posture.1 

1  That  the  position  of  the  Japanese  in  sitting  is  really 
unnatural  and  unhygienic,  is  shown  by  recent  measure- 
ments  taken   by  the  surgeons   of   the   Japanese   army. 


10       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

Among  the  lower  classes,  where  there 
are  few  bathing  facilities  in  the  houses, 
babies  of  a  few  weeks  old  are  often  taken 
to  the  public  bath  house  and  put  into  the 
hot  bath.  These  Japanese  baths  are  usu- 
ally heated  to  a  temperature  of  a  hundred 
to  a  hundred  and  thirteen  Fahrenheit,  —  a 
temperature  that  most  foreigners  visiting 
Japan  find  almost  unbearable.  To  a  baby's 
delicate  skin,  the  first  bath  or  two  is  usu- 
ally a  severe  trial,  but  it  soon  becomes  ac- 
customed to  the  high  temperature,  and 
takes  its  bath,  as  it  does  everything  else, 
placidly  and  in  public.  Born  into  a  coun- 
try where  cow's  milk  is  never  used,  the 
Japanese  baby  is  wholly  dependent   upon 

These  measurements  prove  that  the  small  stature  of  the 
Japanese  is  due  largely  to  the  shortness  of  the  lower 
limbs,  which  are  out  of  proportion  to  the  rest  of  the 
body.  The  sitting  from  early  childhood  upon  the  legs 
bent  at  the  knee,  arrests  the  development  of  that  part  of 
the  body,  and  produces  an  actual  deformity  in  the  whole 
nation.  This  deformity  is  less  noticeable  among  the 
peasants,  who  stand  and  walk  so  much  as  to  secure 
proper  development  of  the  legs ;  but  among  merchants, 
literary  men,  and  others  of  sedentary  habits,  it  is  most 
plainly  to  be  seen.  The  introduction  of  chairs  and  tables, 
as  a  necessary  adjunct  of  Japanese  home  life,  would 
doubtless  in  time  alter  the  physique  of  the  Japanese  as 
a  people. 


CHILDHOOD.  11 

its  mother  for  milk,1  and  is  not  weaned 
entirely  until  it  reaches  the  age  of  three  or 
four  years,  and  is  able  to  live  upon  the  ordi- 
nary food  of  the  class  to  which  it  belongs. 
There  is  no  intermediate  stage  of  bread 
and  milk,  oatmeal  and  milk,  gruel,  or  pap 
of  some  kind ;  for  the  all-important  factor 
—  milk  —  is  absent  from  the  bill  of  fare,  in 
a  laud  where  there  is  neither  "  milk  for 
babes  "  nor  "  strong  meat  for  them  that 
are  full  of  age.'5 

In  consequence,  partly,  of  the  lack 
of  proper  nourishment  after  the  child  is 
too  old  to  live  wholly  upon  its  mother's 
milk,  and  partly,  perhaps,  because  of 
the  poor  food  that  the  mothers,  even  of 
the  higher  classes,  live  upon,  many  ba- 
bies in  Japan  are  afflicted  with  disagree- 
able skin  troubles,  especially  of  the  scalp 
and  face,  —  troubles  which  usually  disap- 
pear as  soon  as  the  child  becomes  accus- 
tomed to  the  regular  food  of  the  adult. 
Another  consequence,  as  I  imagine,  of  the 

1  Sometimes,  in  the  old  days,  rice  water  was  given  to 
babies  instead  of  milk,  but  it  was  nearly  impossible  to 
bring  up  a  baby  on  this  alone.  Now  both  fresh  and 
condensed  milk  are  used,  where  the  mother's  milk  is  in- 
sufficient, but  only  in  those  parts  of  Japan  where  the 
foreign  influence  is  felt. 


12       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

lack  of  proper  food  at  the  teething  period, 
is  the  early  loss  of  the  child's  first  teeth, 
which  usually  turn  black  and  decay  some- 
time before  the  second  teeth  begin  to  show 
themselves.  With  the  exception  of  these 
two  troubles,  Japanese  babies  seem  healthy, 
hearty,  and  happy  to  an  extraordinary  de- 
gree, and  show  that  most  of  the  condi- 
tions of  their  lives  are  wholesome.  The 
constant  out-of-door  life  and  the  healthful 
dress  serve  to  make  up  in  considerable 
measure  for  the  poor  food,  and  the  Japa- 
nese baby,  though  small  after  the  manner 
of  the  race,  is  usually  plump,  and  of  firm, 
hard  flesh.  One  striking  characteristic  of 
the  Japanese  baby  is,  that  at  a  very  early 
age  it  learns  to  cling  like  a  kitten  to  the 
back  of  whoever  carries  it,  so  that  it  is 
really  difficult  to  drop  it  through  careless- 
ness, for  the  baby  looks  out  for  its  own 
safety  like  a  young  monkey.  The  straps 
that  tie  it  to  the  back  are  sufficient  for 
safety ;  but  the  baby,  from  the  age  of  one 
month,  is  dependent  upon  its  own  exer- 
tions to  secure  a  comfortable  position,  and 
it  soon  learns  to  ride  its  bearer  with  con- 
siderable skill,  instead  of  being  merely  a 
bundle  tied   to    the    shoulders.     Any  one 


CHILDHOOD.  13 

who  has  ever  handled  a  Japanese  baby  can 
testify  to  the  amount  of  intelligence  shown 
in  this  direction  at  a  very  early  age ;  and 
this  clinging  with  arms  and  legs  is,  per- 
haps, a  valuable  part  of  the  training  which 
gives  to  the  whole  nation  the  peculiar 
quickness  of  motion  and  hardness  of 
muscle  that  characterize  them  from  child- 
hood. It  is  the  agility  and  muscular 
quality  that  belong  to  wild  animals,  that 
we  see  something  of  in  the  Indian,  but  to 
a  more  marked  degree  in  the  Japanese, 
especially  of  the  lower  classes. 

The  Japanese  baby's  first  lessons  in  walk- 
ing are  taken  under  favorable  circum- 
stances. With  feet  comfortably  shod  in  the 
soft  tabi,  or  mitten  -  like  sock,  babies  can 
tumble  about  as  they  like,  with  no  bump 
nor  bruise,  upon  the  soft  matted  floors  of 
the  dwelling  houses.  There  is  no  furni- 
ture to  fall  against,  and  nothing  about  the 
room  to  render  falling  a  thing  to  be  feared. 
After  learning  the  art  of  walking  in  the 
house,  the  baby's  first  attempts  out  of 
doors  are  hampered  by  the  zori  or  geta,  — 
a  light  straw  sandal  or  small  wooden  clog 
attached  to  the  foot  by  a  strap  passing  be- 
tween the  toes.     At  the  very  beginning  the 


14       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

sandal  or  clog"  is  tied  to  the  baby's  foot  by 
bits  of  string  fastened  around  the  ankle, 
but  this  provision  for  security  is  soon  dis- 
carded, and  the  baby  patters  along  like  the 
grown  people,  holding  on  the  geta  by  the 
strap    passing    between    the    toes.      This 
somewhat   cumbersome    and   inconvenient 
foot  gear  must  cause   many  falls  at  first, 
but  baby's  experience  in  the  art  of  balan- 
cing upon  people's  backs  now  aids  in  this 
new  art  of  balancing  upon  the  little  wooden 
clogs.     Babies  of  two  or  three  trot  about 
quite  comfortably  in  gSta  that  seem  to  give 
most  insecure  footing,  and  older  children 
run,  jump,  hop  on  one  foot,  and  play  all 
manner  of  active  games  upon  heavy  clogs 
that  would  wrench  our  ankles  and  toes  out 
of  all  possibility  of  usefulness.     This  foot 
gear,  while  producing  an  awkward,  shuf- 
fling gait,  has  certain  advantages  over  our 
own,  especially  for  children  whose  feet  are 
growing  rapidly.     The  geta,  even  if  out- 
grown, can  never  cramp  the  toes  nor  com- 
press the  ankles.     If  the  foot  is  too  long 
for  the  clog  the  heel  laps  over  behind,  but 
the  toes  do  not  suffer,  and  the  use  of  the 
geta  strengthens   the   ankles  by  affording 
no  artificial  aid  or  support,  and  giving  to 


CHILDHOOD.  15 

all  the  muscles  of  foot  and  leg  free  play, 
with  the  foot  in  a  natural  position.  The 
toes  of  the  Japanese  retain  their  prehensile 
qualities  to  a  surprising  degree,  and  are 
used,  not  only  for  grasping  the  foot  gear, 
but  among  mechanics  almost  like  two  sup- 
plementary hands,  to  aid  in  holding  the 
thing  worked  upon.  Each  toe  knows  its 
work  and  does  it,  and  they  are  not  reduced 
to  the  dull  uniformity  of  motion  that  char- 
acterizes the  toes  of  a  leather- shod  nation. 
The  distinction  between  the  dress  of  the 
boy  and  the  girl,  that  one  notices  from 
childhood,  begins  in  babyhood.  A  very 
young  baby  wears  red  and  yellow,  but  soon 
the  boy  is  dressed  in  sober  colors,  —  blues, 
grays,  greens,  and  browns ;  while  the  lit- 
tle girl  still  wears  the  most  gorgeous  of 
colors  and  the  largest  of  patterns  in  her 
garments,  red  being  the  predominant  hue. 
The  sex,  even  of  a  young  baby,  may  be  dis- 
tinguished by  the  color  of  its  clothing. 
White,  the  garb  of  mourning  in  Japan,  is 
never  used  for  children,  but  the  minutest 
babies  are  dressed  in  bright-colored  gar- 
ments, and  of  the  same  materials  —  wadded 
cotton,  silk,  or  crepe  —  as  those  worn  by 
adults   of    their   social   grade.     As    these 


16       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN. 

dresses  are  not  as  easily  washed  as  our  own 
cambric  and  flannel  baby  clothes,  there  is 
a  loss  among  the  poorer  classes  in  the  mat- 
ter of  cleanliness;  and  the  gorgeous  soiled 
gowns  are  not  as  attractive  as  the  more 
washable  white  garments  in  which  our 
babies  are  dressed.  For  model  clothing 
for  a  baby,  I  would  suggest  a  combination 
of  the  Japanese  style  with  the  foreign, 
easily  washed  materials,  —  a  combination 
that  I  have  seen  used  in  their  own  fami- 
lies by  Japanese  ladies  educated  abroad, 
and  one  in  which  the  objections  to  the  Jap- 
anese style  of  dress  are  entirely  obviated. 

The  Japanese  baby  begins  to  practice  the 
accomplishment  of  talking  at  a  very  early 
age,  for  its  native  language  is  singularly 
happy  in  easy  expressions  for  children ; 
and  little  babies  will  be  heard  chattering 
away  in  soft,  easily  spoken  words  long  be- 
fore they  are  able  to  venture  alone  from 
their  perches  on  their  mothers'  or  nurses' 
backs.  A  few  simple  words  express  much, 
and  cover  all  wants.  Iya  expresses  discon- 
tent or  dislike  of  any  kind,  and  is  also  used 
for  "  no  "  ;  mam  ma  means  food  ;  be  be  is  the 
dress ;  ta  ta  is  the  sock,  or  house  shoe,  etc. 
We  find  many  of  the  same  sounds  as  in  the 


CHILDHOOD.  17 

baby  language  of  English,  with  meanings 
totally  different.  The  baby  is  not  troubled 
with  difficult  grammatical  changes,  for  the 
Japanese  language  has  few  inflections ;  and 
it  is  too  young  to  be  puzzled  with  the  intri- 
cacies of  the  various  expressions,  denoting 
different  degrees  of  politeness,  which  are 
the  snare  and  the  despair  of  the  foreigner 
studying  Japanese. 

As  our  little  girl  emerges  from  baby- 
hood she  finds  the  life  opening  before  her 
a  bright  and  happy  one,  but  one  hedged 
about  closely  by  the  proprieties,  and  one 
in  which,  from  babyhood  to  old  age,  she 
must  expect  to  be  always  under  the  control 
of  one  of  the  stronger  sex.  Her  position 
will  be  an  honorable  and  respected  one 
only  as  she  learns  in  her  youth  the  lesson 
of  cheerful  obedience,  of  pleasing  manners, 
and  of  personal  cleanliness  and  neatness. 
Her  duties  must  be  always  either  within 
the  house,  or,  if  she  belongs  to  the  peasant 
class,  on  the  farm.  There  is  no  career  or 
vocation  open  to  her :  she  must  be  depen- 
dent always  upon  either  father,  husband, 
or  son,  and  her  greatest  happiness  is  to  be 
gained,  not  by  cultivation  of  the  intellect, 
but  by  the  early  acquisition  of  the  self-con- 


18       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

trol  which  is  expected  of  all  Japanese  wo- 
men to  an  even  greater  degree  than  of  the 
men.  This  self-control  must  consist,  not 
simply  in  the  concealment  of  all  the  out- 
ward signs  of  any  disagreeable  emotion5  — 
whether  of  grief,  anger,  or  pain,  —  but  in 
the  assumption  of  a  cheerful  smile  and 
agreeable  manner  under  even  the  most 
distressing  of  circumstances.  The  duty  of 
self-restraint  is  taught  to  the  little  girls  of 
the  family  from  the  tenderest  years ;  it  is 
their  great  moral  lesson,  and  is  expatiated 
upon  at  all  times  by  their  elders.  The  little 
girl  must  sink  herself  entirely,  must  give  up 
always  to  others,  must  never  show  emotions 
except  such  as  will  be  pleasing  to  those 
about  her:  this  is  the  secret  of  true  polite- 
ness, and  must  be  mastered  if  the  woman 
wishes  to  be  well  thought  of  and  to  lead  a 
happy  life.  The  effect  of  this  teaching  is 
seen  in  the  attractive  but  dignified  manners 
of  the  Japanese  women,  and  even  of  the 
very  little  girls.  They  are  not  forward  nor 
pushing,  neither  are  they  awkwardly  bash- 
ful ;  there  is  no  self-consciousness,  neither 
is  there  any  lack  of  savoir  faire  ;  a  childlike 
simplicity  is  united  with  a  womanly  con- 
sideration for  the  comfort  of  those  around 


CHILDHOOD.  19 

them.     A  Japanese  child  seems  to  be  the 
product  of  a  more  perfect  civilization  than 
our  own,  for  it  comes  into  the  world  with 
little   of  the  savagery  and   barbarian  bad 
manners  that  distinguish  children  in  this 
country,  and  the  first  ten  or  fifteen  years  of 
its  life  do  not  seem  to  be  passed  in  one  long 
struggle  to  acquire  a  coating  of  good  man- 
ners that  will  help  to  render  it  less  obnox- 
ious in  polite  society.     How  much  of  the 
politeness  of  the  Japanese  is  the  result  of 
training,  and  how  much  is  inherited  from 
generations  of  civilized  ancestors,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  tell ;   but   my  impression   is,  that 
babies  are  born  into  the  world  with  a  good 
start  in  the  matter  of  manners,  and  that  the 
uniformly  gentle  and  courteous  treatment 
that  they  receive  from  those  about  them, 
together  with  the  continual  verbal  teach- 
ing of  the  principle  of   self-restraint  and 
thoughtfulness  of  others,  produce  with  very 
little   difficulty   the    universally   attractive 
manners  of  the  people.     Oue  curious  thing 
in  a  Japanese  household  is  to  see  the  for- 
malities that   pass   between   brothers  and 
sisters,   and   the   respect   paid    to  age  by 
every  member  of  the  family.     The  grand- 
father and  grandmother  come  first  of  all  in 


20       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

everything,  —  no  one  at  table  must  he 
helped  before  them  in  any  case ;  after  them 
come  the  father  and  mother ;  and  lastly, 
the  children  according  to  their  ages.  A 
younger  sister  must  always  wait  for  the 
elder  and  pay  her  due  respect,  even  in  the 
matter  of  walking  into  the  room  before 
her.  The  wishes  and  convenience  of  the 
elder,  rather  than  of  the  younger,  are  to 
be  consulted  in  everything,  and  this  les- 
son must  be  learned  early  by  children. 
The  difference  in  years  may  be  slight,  but 
the  elder-born  has  the  first  right  in  all 
cases. 

Our  little  girl's  place  in  the  family  is  a 
pleasant  one :  she  is  the  pet  and  plaything 
of  father  and  elder  brothers,  and  she  is 
never  saluted  by  any  one  in  the  family,  ex- 
cept her  parents,  without  the  title  of  re- 
spect due  to  her  position.  If  she  is  the 
eldest  daughter,  to  the  servants  she  is  0 
Jo  Sama,  literally,  young  lady  ;  to  her  own 
brothers  and  sisters,  Ane  San,  elder  sister. 
Should  she  be  one  of  the  younger  ones, 
her  given  name,  preceded  by  the  honorific 
0  and  followed  by  San,  meaning  Miss, 
will  be  the  name  by  which  she  will  be 
called  by  younger  brothers  and  sisters,  and 


CHILDHOOD.  21 

by  the  servants.  As  she  passes  from  baby- 
hood to  girlhood,  and  from  girlhood  to 
womanhood,  she  is  the  object  of  much  love 
and  care  and  solicitude;  but  she  does  not 
grow  up  irresponsible  or  untrained  to  meet 
the  duties  which  womanhood  will  surely 
bring*  to  her.  She  must  learn  all  the  du- 
ties  that  fall  upon  the  wife  and  mother  of 
a  Japanese  household,  as  well  as  obtain 
the  instruction  in  books  and  mathematics 
that  is  coming  to  be  more  and  more  a 
necessity  for  the  women  of  Japan.  She 
must  take  a  certain  responsibility  in  the 
household  ;  must  see  that  tea  is  made  for 
the  guests-  who  may  be  received  by  her 
parents,  —  in  all  but  the  families  of  highest 
rank,  must  serve  it  herself.  Indeed,  it  is 
quite  the  custom  in  families  of  the  higher 
classes,  should  a  guest,  whom  it  is  desired 
to  receive  with  especial  honor,  dine  at  the 
house,  to  serve  the  meal,  not  with  the 
family,  but  separately  for  the  father  and 
his  visitor;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  wife 
or  daughter,  oftener  the  latter,  to  wait  on 
them.  This  is  in  honor  of  the  guest,  not 
on  account  of  the  lack  of  servants,  for  there 
may  be  any  number  of  them  within  call,  or 
even  in  the  back  part  of  the  room,  ready 


22       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

to  receive  from  the  hands  of  the  young  girl 
what  she  has  removed.  She  must,  there- 
fore, know  the  proper  etiquette  of  the 
table,  how  to  serve  carefully  and  neatly, 
and,  above  all,  have  the  skill  to  ply  the  sake 
bottle,  so  that  the  house  may  keep  up  its 
reputation  for  hospitality.  Should  guests 
arrive  in  the  absence  of  her  parents,  she 
must  receive  and  entertain  them  until  the 
master  or  mistress  of  the  house  returns. 
She  also  feels  a  certain  care  about  the  be- 
havior of  the  younger  members  of  the 
family,  especially  in  the  absence  of  the 
parents.  In  these  various  ways  she  is 
trained  for  taking  upon  herself  the  cares 
of  a  household  when  the  time  comes.  In 
all  but  the  very  wealthiest  and  most  aristo- 
cratic families,  the  daughters  of  the  house 
do  a  large  part  of  the  simple  housework. 
In  a  house  with  no  furniture,  no  carpets, 
no  bric-a-brac,  no  mirrors,  picture  frames 
or  glasses  to  be  cared  for,  no  stoves  or 
furnaces,  no  windows  to  wash,  a  large  part 
of  the  cooking  to  be  done  outside,  and  no 
latest  styles  to  be  imitated  in  clothing,  the 
amount  of  work  to  be  done  by  women  is 
considerably  diminished,  but  still  there  re- 
mains enough  to  take  a  good  deal  of  time. 


CHILDHOOD.  23 

Every  morning  there  are  the  beds  to  be 
rolled  up  and  stored  away  in  the  closet,  the 
mosquito  nets  to  be  taken  down,  the  rooms 
to  be  swept,  dusted,  and  aired  before  break- 
fast.    Besides  this,  there  is  the  washing 
and   polishing8   of  the   engawa,  or   piazza, 
which  runs  around  the  outside  of  a  Japa- 
nese   house    between    the    shoji,  or  paper 
screens    that  serve    as  windows,  and   the 
amado,  or  sliding  shutters,  that  are  closed 
only  at   night,   or   during  heavy,  driving 
rains.      Breakfast   is    to    be   cooked   and 
served,  dishes  to  be  washed  (in  cold  water); 
and  then  perhaps  there  is  marketing  to  be 
done,  either  at  shops  outside  or  from  the 
vendors  of  fish  and  vegetables,  who  bring 
their  huge  baskets    of  provisions   to   the 
door  ;  but  after  these  duties  are  performed, 
it   is  possible   to   sit  down  quietly  to   the 
day's  work  of  sewing,  studying,   or  what- 
ever else  may  suit  the  taste  or  necessities 
of  the  housewife.     Of  sewing  there  is  al- 
ways a  good    deal   to  be  done,  for  many 
Japanese  dresses  must  be  taken  to  pieces 
whenever  they  are  washed,  and  are  turned, 
dyed,  and  made  over  again  and  again,  so 
long  as  there  is  a  shred  of  the  original 
material  left  to  work  upon.    There  is  wash- 


24      JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

ing,  too,  to  be  done,  although  neither  with 
hot  water  nor  soap;  and  in  the  place  of 
ironing,  the  cotton  garments,  which  are 
usually  washed  without  ripping,  must  be 
hung  up  on  a  bamboo  pole  passed  through 
the  armholes,  and  pulled  smooth  and 
straight  before  they  dry;  and  the  silk, 
always  ripped  into  breadths  before  wash- 
ing, must  be  smoothed  while  wet  upon  a 
board  which  is  set  in  the  sun  until  the  silk 
is  dry. 

Then  there  are  the  every  day  dishes 
which  our  Japanese  maiden  must  learn  to 
prepare.  The  proper  boiling  of  rice  is  in 
itself  a  study.  The  construction  of  the  va- 
rious soups  which  form  the  staple  in  the 
Japanese  bill  of  fare ;  the  preparation  of 
mochi,  a  kind  of  rice  dough,  which  is 
prepared  at  the  New  Year,  or  to  send  to 
friends  on  various  festival  occasions:  these 
and  many  other  branches  of  the  culinary 
art  must  be  mastered  before  the  young  girl 
is  prepared  to  assume  the  cares  of  married 
life. 

But  though  the  little  girl's  life  is  not 
without  its  duties  and  responsibilities,  it  is 
also  not  at  all  lacking  in  simple  and  inno- 
cent pleasures.     First  among  the  annual 


CHILDHOOD.  25 

festivals,  and  bringing  with  it  much  mirth 
and  frolic,  comes  the  Feast  of  the  New 
Year.  At  this  time  father,  mother,  and 
all  older  members  of  the  family  lay  aside 
their  work  and  their  dignity,  and  join  in 
the  fun  and  sports  that  are  characteristic 
of  this  season.  Worries  and  anxieties  are 
set  aside  with  the  close  of  the  year,  and  the 
first  beams  of  the  New  Year's  sun  bring  in 
a  season  of  unlimited  joy  for  the  chil- 
dren. For  about  two  weeks  the  festival 
lasts,  and  the  festal  spirit  remains  through 
the  whole  month,  prompting  to  fun  and 
amusements  of  all  kinds.  From  early 
morning1  until  bedtime  the  children  wear 
their  prettiest  clothes,  in  which  they  play 
without  rebuke.  Guests  come  and  go, 
bringing  congratulations  to  the  family, 
and  often  gifts  for  all.  The  children's 
stock  of  toys  is  thus  greatly  increased,  and 
the  house  overflows  with  the  good  things 
of  the  season,  of  which  mochi,  or  cake  made 
from  rice  dough,  prepared  always  especially 
for  this  time,  is  one  of  the  most  important 
articles. 

The  children  are  taken  with  their  pa- 
rents to  make  New  Y7ear's  visits  to  their 
friends  and  to  offer  them  congratulations, 


26       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

and  much  they  enjoy  this,  as,  dressed  in 
their  best,  they  ride  from  house  to  house 
in  jinrikishas.1 

And  then,  during  the  long,  happy  even- 
ings, the  whole  family,  including  even  the 
old  grandfather  and  grandmother,  join  in 
merry  games ;  the  servants,  too,  are  invited 
to  join  the  family  party,  and,  without  seem- 
ing forward  or  out  of  place,  enter  into 
the  games  with  zest.  One  of  the  favorite 
games  is  " Hyaku  nin  ishu"  literally  "The 
poems  of  a  hundred  poets."  It  consists  of 
two  hundred  cards,  on  each  of  which  is 
printed  either  the  first  or  last  half  of  one 
of  the  hundred  famous  Japanese  poems 
which  give  the  name  to  the  game.  The 
poems  are  well  known  to  all  Japanese,  of 
whatever  sort  or  condition.  All  Japanese 
poems  are  short,  containing  only  thirty- 
two  syllables,  and  have  a  natural  division 
into  two  parts.  The  one  hundred  cards 
containing  the  latter  half  of  the  poems  are 
dealt  and  laid  out  in  rows,  face  upward, 
before    the   players.     One   person    is   ap- 

1  Jinrikisha,  or  kuruma,  a  small,  light  carriage,  usually 
with  a  broad  top,  which  is  drawn  by  a  nian.  The  jinrikisha 
is  the  commonest  of  all  vehicles  now  in  use  in  Japan. 
Jinrikisha  -man  and  kurumaya  are  terms  commonly  used 
for  the  runner  who  draws  the  carriage. 


CHILDHOOD.  27 

pointed  reader.  To  him  are  given  the  re- 
maining hundred  cards,  and  he  reads  the 
beginning's  of  the  poems  in  whatever  order 
they  come  from  the  shuffled  pack.  Skill 
in  the  game  consists  in  remembering 
quickly  the  line  following  the  one  read, 
and  rapidly  finding  the  card  on  which  it  is 
written.  Especially  does  the  player  watch 
his  own  cards,  and  if  he  finds  there  the 
end  of  the  poem,  the  beginning  of  which 
has  just  been  read,  he  must  pick  it  up  be- 
fore any  one  sees  it  and  lay  it  aside.  If 
some  one  else  spies  the  card  first,  he  seizes 
it  and  gives  to  the  careless  player  several 
cards  from  his  own  hand.  Whoever  first 
disposes  of  all  his  cards  is  the  winner. 
The  players  usually  arrange  themselves  in 
two  lines  down  the  middle  of  the  room,  and 
the  two  sides  play  against  each  other,  the 
game  not  being  ended  until  either  one  side 
or  the  other  has  disposed  of  all  its  cards. 
The  game  requires  great  quickness  of 
thought  and  of  motion,  and  is  invaluable 
in  giving  to  all  young  people  an  education 
in  the  classical  poetry  of  their  own  nation, 
as  well  as  being  a  source  of  great  merri- 
ment and  jollity  among  young  and  old. 
Scattered  throughout  the  year  are  va- 


28      JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

rious  flower  festivals,  when,  often  with  her 
whole  family,  our  little  girl  visits  the 
famous  gardens  where  the  plum,  the 
cherry,  the  chrysanthemum,  the  iris,  or 
the  azalea  attain  their  greatest  loveliness, 
and  spends  the  day  out  of  doors  in  aes- 
thetic enjoyment  of  the  beauties  of  nature 
supplemented  by  art.  And  then  there  is 
the  feast  most  loved  in  the  whole  year,  the 
Feast  of  Dolls,  when  on  the  third  day  of  the 
third  month  the  great  fire-proof  storehouse 
gives  forth  its  treasures  of  dolls,  —  in  an 
old  family,  many  of  them  hundreds  of  years 
old,  —  and  for  three  days,  with  all  their 
belongings  of  tiny  furnishings  in  silver, 
lacquer,  and  porcelain,  they  reign  supreme, 
arranged  on  red -covered  shelves  in  the 
finest  room  of  the  house.  Most  prominent 
among  the  dolls  are  the  effigies  of  the  Em- 
peror and  Empress  in  antique  court  cos- 
tume, seated  in  dignified  calm,  each  on  a 
lacquered  dais.  Near  them  are  the  figures 
of  the  five  court  musicians  in  their  robes 
of  office,  each  with  his  instrument.  Be- 
side these  dolls,  which  are  always  present 
and  form  the  central  figures  at  the  feast, 
numerous  others,  more  plebeian,  but  more 
lovable,  find  places  on  the  lower  shelves, 


CHILDHOOD.  29 

and  the  array  of  dolls'  furnishings  which 
is  brought  out  on  these  occasions  is  some- 
thing marvelous.  It  was  my  privilege  to 
be  present  at  the  Feast  of  Dolls  in  the 
house  of  one  of  the  Tokugawa  daimios,  a 
house  in  which  the  old  forms  and  cere- 
monies were  strictly  observed,  and  over 
which  the  wave  of  foreign  innovation  had 
passed  so  slightly  that  even  the  calendar 
still  remained  unchanged,  and  the  feast 
took  place  upon  the  third  day  of  the  third 
month  of  the  old  Japanese  year,  instead  of 
on  the  third  day  of  March,  which  is  the 
usual  time  for  it  now.  At  this  house, 
where  the  dolls  had  been  accumulating  for 
hundreds  of  years,  five  or  six  broad,  red- 
covered  shelves,  perhaps  twenty  feet  long 
or  more,  were  completely  filled  with  them 
and  with  their  belongings.  The  Emperor 
and  Empress  appeared  again  and  again,  as 
well  as  the  five  court  musicians,  and  the 
tiny  furnishings  and  utensils  were  wonder- 
fully costly  and  beautiful.  Before  each 
Emperor  and  Empress  were  set  an  elegant 
lacquered  table  service,  tray,  bowls,  cups, 
sake  pots,  rice  buckets,  etc.,  all  complete, 
and  in  each  utensil  was  placed  the  appro- 
priate variety  of  food.     The  sake  used  on 


30       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

this  occasion  is  a  sweet,  white  liquor, 
brewed  especially  for  this  feast,  as  different 
from  the  ordinary  sake  as  sweet  cider  is 
from  the  hard  cider  upon  which  a  man 
may  drink  himself  into  a  state  of  intoxica- 
tion. Besides  the  table  service,  everything 
that  an  imperial  doll  can  be  expected  to 
need  or  desire  is  placed  upon  the  shelves. 
Lacquered  norimono,  or  palanquins ;  lac- 
quered bullock  carts,  drawn  by  bow-legged 
black  bulls, — these  were  the  conveyances 
of  the  great  in  Old  Japan,  and  these,  in 
minute  reproductions,  are  placed  upon  the 
red-covered  shelves.  Tiny  silver  and  brass 
hibachi,  or  fire  boxes,  are  there,  with  their 
accompanying  tongs  and  charcoal  baskets, 
—  whole  kitchens,  with  everything  re- 
quired for  cooking  the  finest  of  Japa- 
nese feasts,  as  finely  made  as  if  for  actual 
use,  all  the  necessary  toilet  apparatus,  — 
combs,  mirrors,  utensils  for  blackening  the 
teeth,  for  shaving  the  eyebrows,  for  redden- 
ing the  lips  and  whitening  the  face,  — all 
these  things  are  there  to  delight  the  souls 
of  all  the  little  girls  who  may  have  the  op- 
portunity to  behold  them.  For  three  days 
the  imperial  effigies  are  served  sumptu- 
ously at  each  meal,  and  the  little  girls  of 


CHILDHOOD.  31 

the  family  take  pleasure  in  serving1  the  im- 
perial majesties ;  but  when  the  feast  ends, 
the  dolls  and  their  belongings  are  packed 
away  in  their  boxes,  and  lodged  in  the  tire- 
proof  warehouse  for  another  year. 

The  Tokugawa  collection,  of  which  I 
have  spoken,  is  remarkably  full  and  costly, 
for  it  has  been  making  for  hundreds  of 
years  in  one  of  the  younger  branches  of  a 
family  which  for  two  and  a  half  centuries 
was  possessed  of  almost  imperial  power, 
and  lived  in  more  than  imperial  luxury ; 
but  there  are  few  households  so  poor  that 
they  do  not  from  year  to  year  accumulate 
a  little  store  of  toys  wherewith  to  cele- 
brate the  feast,  and,  whether  the  toys  are 
many  or  few,  the  feast  is  the  event  of 
the  year  in  the  lives  of  the  little  girls  of 
Japan. 

Beside  the  regular  feasts  at  stated  sea- 
sons, our  little  girl  has  a  great  variety  of 
toys  and  games,  some  belonging  to  par- 
ticular seasons,  some  played  at  any  time 
during  the  year.  At  the  New  Year  the 
popular  out-of-door  games  are  battledoor 
and  shuttlecock,  and  ball.  There  is  no 
prettier  sight,  to  my  mind,  than  a  group 
of  little  girls  in  their  many-colored  wide- 


32       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

sleeved  dresses  playing  with  battledoor.or 
ball.  The  graceful,  rhythmic  motion  of 
their  bodies,  the  bright  upturned  eyes,  the 
laughing  faces,  are  set  off  to  perfection  by 
the  coloring  of  their  flowing  drapery  ;  and 
their  agility  on  their  high,  lacquered  clogs 
is  a  constant  source  of  wonder  and  ad- 
miration to  any  one  who  has  ever  made 
an  effort  to  walk  upon  the  clumsy  things. 
There  are  dolls,  too,  that  are  not  relegated 
to  the  storehouse  when  the  Feast  of  Dolls 
is  ended,  but  who  are  the  joy  and  comfort 
of  their  little  mothers  during  the  whole 
year ;  and  at  every  kwan-ko-ba,  or  bazaar, 
an  endless  variety  of  games,  puzzles,  pic- 
tures to  be  cut  out  and  glued  together,  and 
amusements  of  all  kinds,  may  be  purchased 
at  extremely  low  rates.  There  is  no  dearth 
of  games  for  our  little  girl,  and  many 
pleasant  hours  are  spent  in  the  household 
sitting  room  with  games,  or  conundrums, 
or  stories,  or  the  simple  girlish  chatter 
th/it  elicits  constant  laughter  from  sheer 
youthful  merriment. 

As  for  fairy  tales,  so  dear  to  the  hearts 
of  children  in  every  country,  the  Japanese 
child  has  her  full  share.  Often  she  listens, 
half  asleep,  while  cuddling  under  the  warm 


CHILDHOOD.  33 

quilted  cover  of  the  kotatsn,1  in  the  cold 
winter  evenings,  to  the  drowsy  voice  of  the 
old  grandmother  or  nurse,  who  carries  her 
away  on  the  wings  of  imagination  to  the 
wonderful  palace  of  the  sea  gods,  or  to  the 
haunts  of  the  terrible  om,  monsters  with 
red,  distorted  faces  and  fearful  horns. 
Momotaro,  the  Peach  Boy,  with  his  won- 
derful feats  in  the  conquest  of  the  om,  is 
her  hero,  until  he  is  supplanted  by  the 
more  real  ones  of  Japanese  history. 

There  are  occasional  all-day  visits  to  the 
theatre,  too,  where,  seated  on  the  floor  in 
a  box,  railed  off  from  those  adjoining,  our 
little  girl,  in  company  with  her  mother  and 
sisters,  enjoys,  though  with  paroxysms  of 
horror  and  fear,  the  heroic  historical  plays 
which  are  now  almost  all  that  is  left  of  the 
heroic  old  Japan.  Here  she  catches  the 
spirit  of  passionate  loyalty  that  belonged 
to  those  days,  forms  her  ideals  of  what  a 
noble  Japanese  woman  should  be  willing 
to  do  for  parents  or  husband,  and  comes 
away  taught,  as  she  could  be  by  no  other 

1  Kotatsu,  a  charcoal  fire  in  a  brazier  or  a  smaU  fire- 
place in  the  floor,  over  which  a  wooden  frame  is  set  and 
the  whole  covered  by  a  quilt.  The  family  sit  about  it  in 
cold  weather  with  the  quilt  drawn  up  over  the  feet  and 
knees. 


34      JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND  WOMEN. 

teaching,   what  the    spirit  was   that  ani- 
mated her   ancestors,  —  what  spirit  must  ^ 
animate   her,    should   she    wish   to   be    a 
worthy  descendant  of  the  women  of  old. 

Among  these  surroundings,  with  these 
duties  and  amusements,  our  little  girl 
grows  to  womanhood.  The  unconscious 
and  beautiful  spirit  of  her  childhood  is  not 
driven  away  at  the  dawn  of  womanhood  by 
thoughts  of  beaux,  of  coming  out"*in  so- 
ciety, of  a  brief  career  of  flirtation  and  con- 
quest, and  at.  the  end  as  fine  a  marriage, 
either  for  love  or  itiouey,  as  her  imagina- 
tion can  picture.  She  takes  no  thought 
for  these  things  herself,  and  her  inter- 
course with  young  men,  though  free  and 
unconstrained,  has  about  it  no  grain  of 
flirtation  or  romantic  interest.  When  the 
time  comes  for  her  to  marry,  her  father 
will  have  her  meet  some  eligible  young 
man,  and  both  she  and  the  young  man  will 
know,  when  they  are  brought  together, 
what  is  the  end  in  view,  and  will  make  up 
their  minds  about  the  matter.  But  until 
that  time  conies,  the  modest  Japanese 
maiden  carries  on  no  flirtations,  thinks 
nothing  of  men  except  as  higher  beiugs  to 
be  deferred  to  and  waited  on,  and  preserves 


CHILDHOOD.  35 

the  childlike  innocence  of  manner,  com- 
bined with  a  serene  dignity  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, that  is  so  noticeable  a  trait 
in  the  Japanese  woman  from  childhood  to 
old  age. 

The  Japanese  woman  is,  under  this  dis- 
cipline, a  finished  product  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  or  eighteen.  She  is  pure,  sweet, 
and  amiable,  with  great  power  of  self-con- 
trol, and  a  knowledge  of  what  to  do  upon 
all  occasions.  The  higher  part  of  her  na- 
ture is  little  developed ;  no  great  religious 
truths  have  lifted  her  soul  above  the  world 
into  a  clearer  and  higher  atmosphere ;  but 
as  far  as  she  goes,  in  regard  to  all  the  little 
things  of  daily  life,  she  is  bright,  industri- 
ous, sweet-tempered,  and  attractive,  and 
prepared  to  do  well  her  duty,  when  that 
duty  comes  to  her,  as  wife  and  mother  and 
mistress  of  a  household.  The  highest 
principle  upon  which  she  is  taught  to  act 
is  obedience,  even  to  the  point  of  violat- 
ing all  her  finest  feminine  instincts,  at  the 
command  of  father  or  husband;  and  acting 
under  that  principle,  she  is  capable  of  an 
entire  self-abnegation  such  as  few  women 
of  any  race  can  achieve. 

With   the   close   of  her   childhood,  the 


86      JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN.    * 

happiest  period  in  the  life  of  a  Japanese 
woman  closes.  The  discipline  that  she 
has  received  so  far,  repressive  and  constant 
as  it  has  often  been,  has  been  from  kind 
and  loving  parents.  She  has  freedom,  to 
a  certain  degree,  such  as  is  unknown  to 
any  other  country  in  Asia.  In  the  home 
she  is  truly  loved,  often  the  pet  and  play- 
thing of  the  household,  though  not  receiv- 
ing the  caresses  and  words  of  endearment 
that  children  in  America  expect  as  a  right, 
for  love  in  Japan  is  undemonstrative.1  But 
just  at  the  time  when  her  mind  broadens, 
and  the  desire  for  knowledge  and  self- 
improvement  develops,  the  restraints  and 
checks  upon  her  become  more  severe.  Her 
sphere  seems  to  grow  narrower,  difficulties 
one  by  one  increase,  and  the  young  girl, 
who  sees  life  before  her  as  something 
broad  and  expansive,  who  looks  to  the 
future  with  expectant  joy,  becomes,  in  a 
few  years,  the  weary,  disheartened  woman. 

1  Kisses  are  unknown,  and  regarded  by  conservative 
Japanese  as  an  animal  and  disgusting  way  of  expressing 
affection. 


CHAPTER  II. 

EDUCATION. 

So  far  we  have  spoken  only  of  the  domes- 
tic training1  of  a  Japauese  girl.  That  part 
of  her  education  that  she  gains  through 
teachers  and  schools  must  be  the  subject 
of  a  separate  chapter.  Japan  differs  from 
most  Oriental  countries  in  the  fact  that 
her  women  are  considered  worthy  of  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  the  culture  that  comes  from 
the  study  of  books ;  and  although,  until 
recently,  schools  for  girls  were  unknown  in 
the  empire,  nevertheless  every  woman,  ex- 
cept those  of  the  lower  classes,  received  in- 
struction in  the  ordinary  written  language, 
while  some  were  well  versed  in  the  Chinese 
classics  and  the  poetic  art.  These,  with 
some  musical  accomplishment,  an  acquaint- 
ance with  etiquette  and  the  art  of  arrang- 
ing flowers,  of  making  the  ceremonial  tea, 
and  in  many  cases  not  only  of  writing  a 
beautiful  hand,  but  of  flower-painting  as 
well,  in  the  old  days  made  up  the  whole  of 


38      JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

an   ordinary  woman's  education.     Among 
the  lower  classes,  especially  the  merchant 
class,  instruction  was  sometimes  given  in 
the  various  pantomimic  dances  which  one 
sees  most  frequently  presented  hy  profes- 
sional dancing  girls.     The  art  of  dancing 
is  not  usually  practiced  hy  women  of  the 
higher  classes,  hut  among  the  daughters  of 
the  merchants  special  dances  were  learned 
for   exhibition   at   home,   or   even    at   the 
matsuri  or  religious  festival,  and  their  per- 
formance was  for  the  amusement  of  spec- 
tators, and  not  especially  for  the  pleasure 
of  the  dancers  themselves.     These  dances 
are  modest  and  graceful,  hut  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  always  learned  for  entertain- 
ing an  audience,  however  small  and  select, 
ami  are  most  frequently  performed  hy  pro- 
fessional dancers  of  questionable  character, 
the  more  refined   aud  higher  class  Japa- 
nese do  not  cave  especially  to  have  their 
daughters  learn  them. 

In  the  old  days,  little  girls  were  not  sent 
to  school,  but,  going  to  the  house  of  a 
private  teacher,  received  the  necessary  in- 
struction in  reading,  and  writing.  The 
writing  aud  reading  at  the  beginning,  are 
taught  simultaneously,  the  teacher  writing 


EDUCATION.  39 

a  letter  upon  a  sheet  of  paper  and  telling 
the  scholar  its  name,  and  the  scholar  writ- 
ing it  over  and  over  until,  by  the  time  she 
has  acquired  the  necessary  skill  in  writing 
it.  both  name  and  form  are  indeliblv  im- 
printed  upon  her  memory.  To  write,  with 
a  brush  dipped  in  India  ink,  upon  soft 
paper,  the  hand  entirely  without  support,  is 
an  art  that  seldom  can  be  acquired  by  a 
grown  person,  but  when  learned  in  child- 
hood it  gives  great  deftness  in  whatever 
other  art  may  be  subsequently  studied. 
This  is  perhaps  the  reason  why  the  Japa- 
nese value  a  good  handwriting  more 
highly  than  any  other  accomplishment,  for 
it  denotes  a  manual  dexterity  that  is  the 
secret  of  success  in  all  the  arts,  and  one 
who  writes  the  Chinese  characters  well  and 
rapidly  can  quickly  learn  to  do  anything 
else  with  the  fingers. 

The  fault  that  one  finds  with  the  Japa- 
nese system  —  a  fault  that  lies  deeper  than 
the  mere  methods  of  teaching,  and  has  its 
root  in  the  ideographic  character  of  the 
written  language  —  is  that,  while  it  culti- 
vates the  memory  and  powers  of  observa- 
tion to  a  remarkable  extent,  and  while  it 
gives  great  skill  in  the  use  of  the  fingers, 


40       JAPANESE  GIELS  AND   WOMEN. 

it  affords  little  opportunity  for  the  devel- 
opment   of    the   reasoning  powers.1     The 

1  The  Japanese  written  language  is  a  strange  combina- 
tion of  Chinese  and  Japanese,  to  read  which  a  knowledge 
of  the  Chinese  characters  is  necessary.  Chinese  literature 
written  in  the  Chinese  ideographs,  which  of  course  give 
no  clue  to  the  sound,  are  read  by  Japanese  with  the 
Japanese  rendering  of  the  words,  and  the  Japanese  order 
of  words  in  the  sentence.  When  there  have  not  been 
exact  equivalent  Japanese  words,  a  Chinese  term  has 
come  into  use,  so  that  much  corrupt  Chinese  is  now  well 
engrafted  into  the  Japanese  language,  both  written  and 
spoken.  In  the  forming  of  new  words  and  technical 
terms  Chinese  words  are  used,  as  the  Greek  and  Latin 
are  here.  There  is  probably  no  similarity  in  the  origin 
of  the  two  languages,  but  the  Japanese  borrowed  from 
the  Chinese  about  the  sixth  century  A.  D.  their  clev- 
erly planned  but  most  complex  method  of  expressing 
thought  in  writing.  The  introduction  of  the  Chinese  lit- 
erature has  done  much  for  Japan,  and  to  master  this 
language  is  one  of  the  essentials  in  the  education  of  every 
boy.  At  least  seven  or  eight  thousand  characters  must 
be  learned  for  daily  use,  and  there  are  several  different 
styles  of  writing  each  of  them.  For  a  scholar,  twice  as 
many,  or  even  more,  must  be  mastered  in  order  to  read 
the  various  works  in  that  rich  literature. 

The  Japanese  language  contains  a  syllabary  of  forty- 
eight  letters,  and  in  books  and  newspapers  for  the  com- 
mon people  is  printed,  by  the  side  of  the  Chinese  charac- 
ter, the  rendering  of  it,  in  the  letters  of  the  kana,  or 
Japanese  alphabet. 

A  Japanese  woman  is  not  expected  to  do  much  in  the 
study  of  Chinese.  She  will,  of  course,  learn  a  few  of  the 
most  common  characters,  such  as  are  used  in  letter-writ- 
ing, and  for  the  rest  she  will  read  by  the  help  of  the 
kana. 


EDUCATION.  41 

years  of  study  that  are  required  for  master- 
ing the  written  language,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  grasp  the  thoughts  already  given  to  the 
world,  leave  comparatively  little  time  for 
the  conducting  of  any  continuous  thought 
on  one's  own  account,  and  so  we  find  in 
Japanese  scholars  —  whether  boys  or  girls 
—  quickness  of  apprehension,  retentive 
memories,  industry  and  method  in  their 
study  of  their  lessons,  but  not  much  origi- 
nality of  thought.  This  result  comes,  I 
believe,  from  the  nature  of  the  written 
language  and  the  difficulties  that  attend 
the  mastery  of  it;  as  a  consequence  of 
which,  an  educated  man  or  woman  be- 
comes simply  a  student  of  other  men's 
thoughts  and  sayings  about  things  instead 
of  being  a  student  of  the  things  themselves. 
Music  in  Japan  is  an  accomplishment 
reserved  almost  entirely  for  women,  for 
priests,  and  for  blind  men.  It  seems  to 
me  quite  fortunate  that  the  musical  art 
is  not  more  generally  practiced,  as  Japa- 
nese music,  as  a  rule,  is  far  from  agree- 
able to  the  untrained  ear  of  the  outside 
barbarian.  The  koto  is  the  pleasantest  of 
the  Japanese  instruments,  but  probably  on 
account  of  its  large  size,  which  makes  it 


42       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

inconvenient  to  keep  in  a  small  Japanese 
house,  it  is  used  most  among  the  higher 
classes,  from  the  samurai l  upwards.  The 
koto  is  an  embryo  piano,  a  horizontal 
sounding-board,  some  six  feet  long,  upon 
which  are  stretched  strings  supported  by 
ivory  bridges.  It  is  played  by  means  of 
ivory  finger-tips  fitted  to  the  thumb,  fore- 
finger, and  middle  finger  of  each  hand,  and 
gives  forth  agreeable  sounds,  not  unlike 
those  of  the  harp.  The  player  sits  before 
the  instrument  on  knees  and  heels,  in  the 
ordinary  Japanese  attitude,  and  her  mo- 
tions are  very  graceful  and  pretty  as  she 
touches  the  strings,  often  supplementing 
the  strains  of  the  instrument  with  her 
voice.  The  teaching  of  this  instrument 
and  of  the  samisen,  or  Japanese  guitar,  is 
almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  blind  men, 
who  in  Japan  support  themselves  by  the 
two  professions  of  music  and  massage, — 
all  the  blind,  who  cannot  learn  the  former, 
becoming  adepts  in  the  latter  profession. 
The  arrangement  of  flowers  is  taught  as 

1  The  samurai  in  the  feudal  times  were  the  hereditary 
retainers  of  a  daimio^  or  feudal  lord.  They  formed  the 
military  and  literary  class.  For  further  information,  see 
chap.  viiLj  on  Samurai  Women, 


EDUCATION.  43 

a  fine  art,  and  much  time  may  be  spent  in 
learning  how,  by  clipping,  bending,  and 
fixing  in  its  place  in  the  vase,  each  spray 
and  twig  may  be  made  to  look  as  if  actu- 
ally growing,  for  flower  arranging  is  not 
merely  to  show  the  flower  itself,  but  in- 
cludes the  proper  arrangement  of  the 
branches,  twigs,  and  leaves  of  plants.  The 
flower  plays  only  a  small  part,  and  is  not 
used  in  decoration,  except  on  the  branch 
and  stem  as  it  is  in  nature,  and  the  art 
consists  in  the  preservation  of  the  natural 
bend  and  growth  when  fixed  in  the  vase. 
In  every  case,  each  branch  has  certain 
curves,  which  must  be  in  harmony  with  the 
whole.  Branches  of  pine,  bamboo,  and  the 
flowering  plum  are  much  used. 

Teachers  spend  much  time  in  showing 
proper  and  improper  combinations  of  dif- 
ferent flowers,  as  well  as  the  arrangement 
of  them.  Many  different  styles  have  come 
up,  originated  by  the  famous  teachers  who 
have  founded  various  schools  of  the  art,  — 
an  art  which  is  unique  and  exceedingly 
popular,  requiring  artistic  talent  and  a 
cultivated  eye.  One  often  sees,  on  going 
into  the  guest  room  of  a  Japanese  house,  a 
vase  containing  gracefully  arranged  flow- 


44       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

ers  set  in  the  tokonoma,  or  raised  alcove  of 
the  room,  under  the  solitary  kakemono  a 
that  forms  the  chief  ornament  of  the 
apartment.  As  these  two  things,  the  vase 
of  flowers  and  the  hanging  scroll,  are  the 
only  adornments,  it  is  more  necessary  that 
the  flowers  should  be  carefully  arranged, 
than  in  our  crowded  rooms,  where  a  vase 
of  flowers  may  easily  escape  the  eye,  per- 
plexed by  the  multitude  of  objects  which 
surround  it. 

The  ceremonial  tea  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  ordinary  serving  of  tea 
for  refreshment.  The  proper  making,  and 
serving,  and  drinking  of  the  ceremonial 
tealis  the  most  formal  of  social  observances, 
"each  step  in  which  is  prescribed  by  a  rigid 
code  of  etiquette.  The  tea,  instead  of 
being  the  whole  leaf,  such  as  is  used  for 
ordinary  occasions,  is  a  fine,  green  powder. 
The  infusion  is  made,  not  in  a  small  pot, 
from  which  it  is  poured  out  into  cups, 
but  in  a  bowl,  into  which  the  hot  water  is 
poured  from  a  dipper  on  to  the  powdered 
tea.  The  mixture  is  stirred  with  a  bam- 
boo whisk  until  it  foams,  then  handed  with 

1  Kakemono,  a  hanging  scroll,  upon  which  a  picture  is 
painted,  or  some  poem  or  sentiment  written. 


EDUCATION.  45 

much  ceremony  to  the  guest,  who  takes  it 
with  equal  ceremony  and  drinks  it  from 
the  bowl,  emptying  the  receptacle  at  three 
gulps.  Should  there  be  a  number  of  guests, 
tea  is  made  for  each  in  turn,  in  the  order 
of  their  rank,  in  the  same  bowl.  For  this 
ceremonial  tea,  a  special  set  of  utensils  is 
used,  all  of  antique  and  severely  simple 
style.  The  charcoal  used  for  heating  the 
water  is  of  a  peculiar  variety ;  and  the 
room  in  which  the  tea  is  made  and  served 
is  built  for  that  special  purpose,  and  kept 
sacred  for  that  use.  This  art,  which  is 
often  part  of  the  education  of  women  of 
the  higher  classes,  is  taught  by  regular 
teachers,  often  by  gentlewomen  who  have 
fallen  into  distressed  circumstances.  I  re- 
member with  great  vividness  a  visit  paid 
to  an  old  lady  living  near  a  provincial 
city  of  Japan,  who  had  for  years  supported 
herself  by  giving  lessons  in  this  politest 
of  arts.  Her  little  house,  of  the  daintiest 
and  neatest  type,  seemed  filled  to  over- 
flowing by  three  foreigners,  whom  she  re- 
ceived with  the  courtliest  of  welcomes.  At 
the  request  of  my  friend,  an  American  lady 
engaged  in  missionary  work  in  that  part  of 
the  country,  she  gave  us  a  lesson  in  the 


46       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

etiquette  of  the  tea  ceremony.  Every  mo- 
tion, from  the  bringing"  in  and  arranging 
of  the  utensils  to  the  final  rinsing  and 
wiping  of  the  tea  bowl,  was  according  to 
rules  strictly  laid  down,  and  the  whole 
ceremony  had  more  the  solemnity  of  a  re- 
ligious ritual  than  the  lightness  and  gayety 
of  a  social  occasion. 

Etiquette  of  all  kinds  is  not  left  in 
Japan  to  chance,  to  be  learned  by  observa- 
tion and  imitation  of  any  model  that  may 
present  itself,  but  is  taught  regularly  by 
teachers  who  make  a  specialty  of  it.  Every- 
thing in  the  daily  life  has  its  rules,  aud  the 
etiquette  teacher  has  them  all  at  her  fingers' 
ends.  There  have  been  several  famous 
teachers  of  etiquette,  and  they  have  formed 
systems  which  differ  in  minor  points,  while 
agreeing  in  the  principal  rules.  The  eti- 
quette of  bowing,  the  position  of  the  body, 
the  arms,  and  the  head  while  saluting,  the 
methods  of  shutting  and  opening  the  door, 
rising  and  sitting  down  on  the  floor,  the 
manner  of  serving  a  meal,  or  tea,  are  all, 
with  the  minutest  details,  taught  to  the 
young  girls,  who,  I  imagine,  find  it  rather 
irksome.  I  know  two  young  girls  of  new 
Japan  who  find  nothing  so  wearisome  as 


EDUCATION.  47 

their  etiquette  lesson,  and  would  gladly  be 
excused  from  it.  I  have  heard  them,  after 
their  teacher  had  left,  slyly  make  fun  of 
her  stiff  and  formal  manners.  Such  people 
as  she  will,  I  fear,  soon  belong  only  to  the 
past,  though  it  still  remains  to  be  seen 
how  much  of  European  manners  will  be 
engrafted  on  the  old  formalities  of  Japa- 
nese life.  It  is,  perhaps,  because  of  this 
regular  teaching  in  the  ways  of  polite  soci- 
ety, that  the  Japanese  girl  seems  never  at 
a  loss,  even  under  unusual  circumstances, 
but  bears  herself  with  self-possession  in 
places  where  young  girls  in  America  would 
be  embarrassed  and  awkward. 

But  the  Japanese  are  rapidly  finding  out 
that  this  busy  nineteenth  century  gives 
little  time  for  learning  how  to  shut  and 
open  doors  in  the  politest  manner,  and  in- 
deed such  things  under  the  newly  estab- 
lished school  system  are  now  relegated  en- 
tirely to  the  girls'  schools,  the  boys  having 
no  lessons  in  etiquette. 

The  method  of  teaching  flower-painting 
is  so  interesting  that  I  must  speak  of  it 
before  I  leave  the  subject  of  accomplish- 
ments. I  have  said  that  the  acquisition  of 
skill  in  writing  the  Chinese  characters  was 


48       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

the  best  possible  preparation  for  skill  in  all 
other  arts.  This  is  especially  true  of  the 
art  of  painting,  which  is  simply  the  next 
step,  after  writing  has  been  learned.  The 
painting  master,  when  he  comes  to  the 
house,  brings  no  design  as  a  model,  but 
sits  down  on  the  floor  before  the  little 
desk,  and  on  a  sheet  of  paper  paints  with 
great  rapidity  the  design  that  he  wishes 
the  pupil  to  copy.  It  may  be  simply  two 
or  three  blades  of  grass  upon  which  the 
pupil  makes  a  beginning,  but  she  is  ex- 
pected to  make  her  picture  with  exactly 
the  same  number  of  bold  strokes  that  the 
master  puts  into  his.  Again  and  again 
she  blunders  her  strokes  on  to  a  sheet  of 
paper,  until  at  last,  when  sheet  after  sheet 
has  been  spoiled,  she  begins  to  see  some 
semblance  of  the  master's  copy  in  her  own 
daub.  She  perseveres,  making  copy  after 
copy,  until  she  is  able  from  memory  to  put 
upon  the  paper  at  a  moment's  notice  the 
three  blades  of  grass  to  her  master's  satis- 
faction. Only  then  can  she  go  on  to  a 
new  copy,  and  only  after  many  such  de- 
signs have  been  committed  to  memory, 
and  the  free,  dashing  stroke  necessary  for 
Japanese  painting  has   been   acquired,  is 


EDUCATION.  49 

she  allowed  to  undertake  any  copying  from 
nature,  or  original  designing. 

I  have  dwelt  thus  far  only  upon  the  en- 
tirely Japanese  education  that  was  per- 
mitted to  women  under  the  old  regime. 
That  it  was  an  effective  and  refining  sys- 
tem, all  can  testify  who  have  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  any  of  the  charming  Japa- 
nese ladies  whose  schooling  was  finished 
before  Commodore  Perry  disturbed  the  re- 
pose of  old  Japan.  As  I  write,  the  image 
comes  before  me  of  a  sweet-faced,  bright- 
eyed  little  gentlewoman  with  whom  it  was 
my  good  fortune  to  become  intimately  ac- 
quainted during  my  stay  in  Tokyo.  A 
widow,  left  penniless,  with  one  child  to 
support,  she  earned  the  merest  pittance 
by  teaching  sewing  at  one  of  the  govern- 
ment schools  in  Tokyo ;  but  in  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  her  life,  narrow  and  busy 
as  it  needs  must  be,  she  proved  herself  a 
lady  through  and  through.  Polite,  cheer- 
ful, an  intelligent  and  cultivated  reader, 
a  thrifty  housekeeper,  a  loving  and  care- 
ful mother,  a  true  and  helpful  friend,  her 
memory  is  associated  with  many  of  my 
pleasantest  hours  in  Japan,  and  she  is  but 
one  of  the  many  who  bear  witness  to  the 


50      JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

culture  that  might  be  acquired  by  women 
in  the  old  days. 

But  the  Japan  of  old  is  not  the  Japan 
of  to-day,  and  in  the  school  system  now 
prevalent  throughout  the  empire  girls  and 
boys  are  equally  provided  for.  First  the 
schools  established  by  the  various  mission- 
ary societies,  and  then  the  government 
schools,  offered  to  girls  a  broader  education 
than  the  old  instruction  in  Chinese,  in 
etiquette,  and  in  accomplishments.  Now, 
every  morning,  the  streets  of  the  cities  and 
villages  are  alive  with  boys  and  girls  clat- 
tering along,  with  their  books  and  lunch 
boxes  in  their  hands,  to  the  kindergarten, 
primary,  grammar,  high,  or  normal  school. 
Every  rank  in  life,  every  grade  in  learning, 
may  find  its  proper  place  in  the  new  school 
system,  and  the  girls  eagerly  grasp  their 
opportunities,  and  show  themselves  apt 
and  willing  students  of  the  new  learning 
offered  to  them. 

By  the  new  system,  at  its  present  stage 
of  development,  too  much  is  expected  of 
the  Japanese  boy  or  girl.  The  work  re- 
quired w7ould  be  a  burden  to  the  quickest 
mind.  The  whole  of  the  old  education  in 
Japanese  and  Chinese  literature  and  com- 


EDUCATION.  51 

position  —  an  education  requiring  the  best 
years  of  a  boy's  life  —  is  given,  and  grafted 
upon  this,  our  common-school  and  high- 
school  studies  of  mathematics,  geography, 
history,  and  natural  science.  In  addition 
to  these,  at  all  higher  schools,  one  foreign 
language  is  required,  and  often  two,  Eng- 
lish ranking  first  in  the  popular  estima- 
tion. Many  a  headache  do  the  poor,  hard- 
working students  have  over  the  puzzling 
English  language,  in  which  they  have  to 
begin  at  the  wrong  end  of  the  book  and 
read  across  the  page  from  left  to  right,  in- 
stead of  from  top  to  bottom,  and  from  right 
to  left,  as  is  natural  to  them.  But  in  spite 
of  its  hard  work,  the  new  school  life  is 
cheerful  and  healthful,  and  the  children 
enjoy  it.  It  helps  them  to  be  really  chil- 
dren, and,  while  they  are  young,  to  be 
merry  and  playful,  not  dignified  and  formal 
little  ladies  at  all  times.  Upon  the  young 
girls,  the  influence  of  the  schools  is  to 
make  them  more  independent,  self-reliant, 
and  stronger  women.  In  the  houses  of 
the  higher  classes,  even  now,  much  of  the 
old-time  system  of  repression  is  still  in 
force.  Children  are  indeed  "  seen  but  not 
heard,"    and    from   the    time    when   they 


52       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

learn  to  walk  they  must  learn  to  be  polite 
and  dignified.  At  school,  the  more  pro- 
gressive feeling  of  the  times  predominates 
among  the  authorities,  and  the  children 
are  encouraged  to  unbend  and  enjoy  them- 
selves in  games  and  frolics,  as  true  children 
should  do.  Much  is  done  for  the  pleasure 
of  the  little  ones,  who  often  enjoy  school 
better  than  home,  and  declare  that  they  do 
not  like  holidays. 

But  the  young  girl,  who  has  finished 
this  pleasant  school  life,  with  all  its  ad- 
vantages, is  not  as  well  fitted  as  under 
the  old  system  for  the  duties  and  trials 
of  married  life,  unless  under  exceptional 
circumstances,  wrhere  the  husband  chosen 
has  advanced  ideas.  To  those  teaching  the 
young'  girls  of  Japan  to-day,  the  problem  of 
how  to  educate  them  aright  is  a  deep  one, 
and  with  each  newly  trained  girl  sent  out 
go  many  hopes,  mingled  with  anxieties,  in 
regard  to  the  training  she  has  had  as  a 
preparation  for  the  new  life  she  is  about  to 
enter.  The  few,  the  pioneers,  will  have  to 
suffer  for  the  happiness  and  good  of  the 
many,  for  the  problem  of  grafting  the  new 
on  to  the  old  is  indeed  a  difficult  one,  to  be 
solved  only  after  many  experiments. 


EDUCATION.  53 

There  are  many  difficulties  which  lie  in 
the  way  of  the  new  schools  that  must  be 
met,  studied,  and  overcome.  One  of  them 
is  the  one  already  referred  to,  the  problem 
of  how  best  to  combine  the  new  and  the 
old  in  the  school  curriculum.  That  the  old 
learning*  and  literature,  the  old  politeness 
and  sweetness  of  manner,  must  not  be 
given  up  or  made  little  of,  is  evident  to 
every  right-minded  student  of  the  matter. 
That  the  newer  and  broader  culture,  with 
its  higher  morality,  its  greater  develop- 
ment of  the  best  powers  of  the  mind,  must 
play  a  large  part  in  the  Japan  of  the  fu- 
ture, there  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt,  and 
the  women  must  not  be  left  behind  in  the 
onward  movement  of  the  nation.  But  how 
to  give  to  the  young  minds  the  best  pro- 
ducts of  the  thought  of  two  such  distinct 
civilizations  is  a  question  that  is  as  yet  un- 
answered, and  cannot  be  satisfactorily  set- 
tled until  the  effect  of  the  new  education 
has  begun  to  show  itself  in  a  generation  or 
so  of  graduates  from  the  new  schools.  An- 
other difficulty  is  in  the  matter  of  health. 
Most  of  the  new  school-houses  are  fitted 
with  seats  and  desks,  such  as  are  found 
in  American  schools.     Many  of  them  are 


54      JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

heated  by  stoves  or  furnaces.  The  scholars 
in  most  cases  wear  the  Japanese  dress, 
which  in  winter  is  made  warm  enough  to 
be  worn  in  rooms  having  no  artificial  heat. 
Put  this  warm  costume  into  an  artificially 
heated  room  and  the  result  is  an  over- 
heating of  the  body,  and  a  subsequent  chill 
when  the  pupil  goes,  with  no  extra  cover- 
ing, into  the  keen  out-of-door  air.  From 
this  cause  alone,  arise  many  colds  and 
lung  troubles,  which  can  be  prevented 
when  more  experience  has  shown  how  the 
costumes  of  the  East  and  West  can  be  com- 
bined to  suit  the  new  conditions.  Another 
part  of  the  health  problem  lies  in  the  fact 
that  in  many  cases  the  parents  do  not 
understand  the  proper  care  of  a  growing 
girl,  ambitious  to  excel  in  her  studies.  In- 
stead of  the  regular  hours,  healthful  food, 
and  gentle  restraint  that  a  girl  needs  under 
those  circumstances,  our  little  Japanese 
maiden  is  allowed  to  sit  up  to  any  hour  of 
the  night,  or  arise  at  any  hour  in  the 
morning,  to  prepare  her  lessons,  is  given 
food  of  most  indigestible  quality  at  all 
hours  of  the  day  between  her  regular  meals, 
and  is  frequently  urged  to  greater  mental 
exertion  than  her  delicate  body  can  en- 
dure. 


EDUCATION.  55 

Another  difficulty,  in  fitting  the  new 
school  system  into  the  customs  of  the  peo- 
ple, lies  in  the  early  age  at  which  mar- 
riages are  contracted.  Before  the  girl  has 
finished  her  school  course,  her  parents  be- 
gin to  wonder  whether  there  is  not  danger 
of  her  being  left  on  their  hands  altogether, 
if  they  do  not  hand  her  over  to  the  first 
eligible  young  man  who  presents  himself. 
Sometimes  the  girl  makes  a  brave  fight, 
and  remains  in  school  until  her  course  is 
finished;  more  often  she  succumbs  and  is 
married  off,  bids  a  weeping  farewell  to  her 
teachers  and  schoolmates,  and  leaves  the 
school,  to  become  a  wife  at  sixteen,  a 
mother  at  eighteen,  and  an  old  woman  at 
thirty.  In  some  cases,  the  breaking'  down 
of  a  girl's  health  may  be  traced  to  threats 
on  the  part  of  her  parents  that,  if  she  does 
not  take  a  certain  rank  in  her  studies,  she 
will  be  taken  from  school  and  married  off. 

These  are  difficulties  that  may  be  over- 
come when  a  generation  has  been  educated 
who  can,  as  parents,  avoid  the  mistakes 
that  now  endanger  the  health  of  a  Japa- 
nese school-girl.  In  the  mean  time,  board- 
ing schools,  that  can  attend  to  matters  of 
health  and  hygiene  among  the  girls,  would, 


56       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

if  they  could  be  conducted  with  the  proper 
admixture  of  Eastern  and  Western  learn- 
ing and  manners,  do  a  great  deal  toward 
educating  that  generation.  The  mission- 
ary schools  do  much  iu  this  direction,  but 
the  criticism  of  the  Japanese  upon  the 
manners  of  the  girls  educated  in  mission- 
ary schools  is  universally  severe.  To  a 
foreigner  who  has  lived  almost  entirely 
among  Japanese  ladies  of  pure  Japanese 
education,  the  manners  of  the  girls  in  these 
schools  seem  brusque  and  awkward ;  and 
though  they  are  many  of  them  noble 
women  and  doing  noble  work,  there  is 
room  for  hope  that  in  the  future  of  Japan 
the  charm  of  manner  which  is  the  distin- 
guishing feature  of  the  Japanese  woman 
will  not  be  lost  by  contact  with  our  West- 
ern shortness  and  roughness.  A  happy 
mean  undoubtedly  can  be  reached;  and 
when  it  is,  the  women  of  new  Japan  will 
be  able  to  bear  a  not  unfavorable  compari- 
son with  the  women  of  the  old  regime. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MARRIAGE   AND    DIVORCE. 

When  the  Japanese  maiden  arrives  at 
the  age  of  sixteen,  or  thereabouts,  she  is 
expected  as  a  matter  of  course  to  marry. 
She  is  usually  allowed  her  choice  in  regard 
to  whether  she  will  or  will  not  marry  a 
certain  man,  but  she  is  expected  to  marry 
some  one,  and  not  to  take  too  much  time 
in  making  up  her  mind.  The  alternative 
of  perpetual  spinsterhood  is. never  consid- 
ered, either  by  herself  or  her  parents. 
Marriage  is  as  much  a  matter  of  course 
in  a  woman's  life  as  death,  and  is  no  more 
to  be  avoided.  This  being  the  case,  our 
young  woman  has  only  as  much  liberty  of 
choice  accorded  to  her  as  is  likely  to  pro- 
vide against  a  great  amount  of  unhappi- 
ness  in  her  married  life.  If  she  positively 
dislikes  the  man  who  is  submitted  to  her 
for  inspection,  she  is  seldom  forced  to 
marry  him,  but  no  more  cordial  feeling 
than  simple  toleration  is  expected  of  her 
before  marriage. 


58       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

The  courtship  is  somewhat  after  the  fol- 
lowing1 manner.  A  young  man,  who  finds 
himself  in  a  position  to  marry,  speaks  to 
some  married  friend,  and  asks  him  to  be 
on  the  lookout  for  a  beautiful 2  and  ac- 

1  The  Japanese  standard  of  female  beauty  differs  in 
many  respects  from  our  own,  so  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible for  a  foreigner  visiting"  Japan  to  comprehend  the 
judgments  of  the  Japanese  in  regard  to  the  beauty  of 
their  own  women,  and  even  more  impossible  for  the  un- 
traveled  Japanese  to  discover  the  reasons  for  a  foreign- 
er's judgments  upon  either  Japanese  or  foreign  beauties. 
To  the  Japanese,  the  ideal  female  face  must  be  long  and 
narrow ;  the  forehead  high  and  narrow  in  the  middle,  but 
widening  and  lowering  at  the  sides,  conforming  to  the 
outline  of  the  beloved  Fuji,  the  mountain  that  Japanese 
art  loves  to  picture.  The  hair  should  be  straight  and 
glossy  black,  and  absolutely  smooth.  Japanese  ladies 
who  have  the  misfortune  to  have  any  wave  or  ripple  in 
their  hair,  as  many  of  them  do,  are  at  as  much  pains  to 
straighten  it  in  the  dressing  as  American  ladies  are  to 
simulate  a  natural  curl,  when  Nature  has  denied  them 
that  charm.  The  eyes  should  be  long  and  narrow,  slant- 
ing upward  at  the  outer  corners ;  and  the  eyebrows 
should  be  delicate  lines,  high  above  the  eye  itself.  The 
distinctly  aquiline  nose  should  be  low  at  the  bridge,  the 
curve  outward  beginning  much  lower  down  than  upon 
the  Caucasian  face  ;  and  the  eye-socket  should  not  be  out- 
lined at  all,  either  by  the  brow,  the  cheek,  or  by  the 
nose.  It  is  this  flatness  of  the  face  about  the  eyes  that 
gives  the  mildness  of  expression  to  all  young  people  of 
Mongolian  type  that  is  so  noticeable  a  trait  always  in 
their  physiognomy.  The  mouth  of  an  aristocratic  Japa- 
nese lady  must  be  small,  and  the  lips  full  and  red  j  the 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE,  59 

eomplished  maiden,  who  would  be  willing 
to   become   his  wife.     The   friend,  acting 

neck,  a  conspicuous  feature  always  when  the  Japanese 
dress  is  worn,  should  he  long  and  slender,  and  grace- 
fully curved.  The  complexion  should  he  light,  —  a  clear 
ivory-white,  with  little  color  in  the  cheeks.  The  bloom- 
ing country  girl  style  of  beauty  is  not  admired,  and  every- 
thing, even  to  color  in  the  cheeks,  must  be  sacrificed  to 
gain  the  delicacy  that  is  the  sine  qua  non  of  the  Japanese 
beauty.  The  figure  should  be  slender,  the  waist  long, 
but  not  especially  small,  and  the  hips  narrow,  to  secure 
the  best  effect  with  the  Japanese  dress.  The  head  and 
shoulders  should  be  carried  slightly  forward,  and  the 
body  should  also  be  bent  forward  slightly  at  the  waist,  to 
secure  the  most  womanly  and  aristocratic  carriage.  In 
walking,  the  step  should  be  short  and  quick,  with  the 
toes  turned  in,  and  the  foot  lifted  so  slightly  that  either 
clog  or  sandal  will  scuff  with  every  step.  This  is  neces- 
sary for  modesty,  with  the  narrow  skirt  of  the  Japanese 
dress. 

Contrast  with  this  type  the  fair,  curling  hair,  the  round 
blue  eyes,  the  rosy  cheeks,  the  erect,  slim-waisted,  large- 
hipped  figures  of  many  foreign  beauties,  —  the  rapid, 
long,  clean-stepping  walk,  and  the  air  of  almost  masculine 
strength  and  independence,  which  belongs  especially  to 
English  and  American  women,  —  and  one  can  see  how  the 
Japanese  find  little  that  they  recognize  as  beauty  among 
them.  Blue  eyes,  set  into  deep  sockets,  and  with  the 
bridge  of  the  nose  rising  as  a  barrier  between  them,  im- 
part a  fierce  grotesqueness  to  the  face,  that  the  untraveled 
Japanese  seldom  admire.  The  very  babies  will  scream 
with  horror  at  first  sight  of  a  blue-eyed,  light-haired 
foreigner,  and  it  is  only  after  considerable  familiarity 
with  such  persons  that  they  can  be  induced  to  show  any- 
thing but  the  wildest  fright  in  their  presence.     Foreign- 


60       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

rather  as  advance  agent,  makes  a  can- 
vass of  all  the  young  maidens  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, inquiring  among  his  friends; 
and  finally  decides  that  so-and-so  (Miss 
Flower,  let  us  say)  will  be  a  very  good 
match  for  his  friend.  Having  arrived  at 
this  decision,  he  goes  to  Miss  Flower's 
parents  and  lays  the  case  of  his  friend  be- 
fore them.  Should  they  approve  of  the 
suitor,  a  party  is  arranged  at  the  house 
of  some  common  friend,  where  the  young 
people  may  have  a  chance  to  meet  each 
other  and  decide  each  upon  the  other's 
merits.  Should  the  young  folks  find  no 
fault  with  the  match,  presents  are  ex- 
changed,1 a  formal  betrothal  is  entered 
into,  and  the  marriage  is  hastened  for- 
ward. All  arrangements  between  the  con- 
tracting parties  are  made  by  go-betweens, 
or  seconds,  who  hold  themselves  responsi- 

ers  who  have  lived  a  great  deal  among  the  Japanese  find 
their  standards  unconsciously  changing,  and  see,  to  their 
own  surprise,  that  their  countrywomen  look  ungainly, 
fierce,  aggressive,  and  awkward  among  the  small,  mild, 
shrinking,  and  graceful  Japanese  ladies. 

1  The  present  from  the  groom  is  usually  a  piece  of 
handsome  silk,  used  for  the  obi  or  girdle.  This  takes  the 
place  of  the  conventional  engagement  ring  of  Europe  and 
America.  From  the  family  of  the  hride,  silk,  such  as  is 
made  up  into  men's  dresses,  is  sent. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  61 

ble  for  the  success  of  the  marriage,  and 
must  be  concerned  in  the  divorce  proceed- 
ings, should  divorce  become  desirable  or 
necessary. 

The  marriage  ceremony,  which  seems  to 
be  neither  religious  nor  legal  in  its  nature, 
takes  place  at  the  house  of  the  groom,  to 
which  the  bride  is  carried,  accompanied  by 
her  go-betweens,  and,  if  she  be  of  the 
higher  classes,  by  her  own  confidential 
maid,  who  will  serve  her  as  her  personal 
attendant  in  the  new  life  in  her  husband's 
house.  The  trousseau  and  household  goods, 
which  the  bride  is  expected  to  bring  with 
her,  are  sent  before.  The  household  goods 
required  by  custom  as  a  part  of  the  outfit 
of  every  bride  are  as  follows  :  A  bureau ;  a 
low  desk  or  table  for  writing;  a  work-box  ; 
two  of  the  lacquer  trays  or  tables  on  which 
meals  are  served,  together  with  everything* 
required  for  furnishing  them,  even  to  the 
chopsticks;  and  two  or  more  complete  sets 
of  handsome  bed  furnishings.  The  trous- 
seau will  contain,  if  the  bride  be  of  a  well- 
to-do  family,  dresses  for  all  seasons,  and 
handsome  sashes  without  number;  for  the 
unchanging  fashions  of  Japan,  together 
with  the  durable  quality  of  the  dress  mate- 


62      JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

rial,  make  it  possible  for  a  woman,  at  the 
time  of  her  marriage,  to  enter  her  hus- 
band's house  with  a  supply  of  clothing'  that 
may  last  her  through  her  lifetime.  The 
parents  of  the  bride,  in  giving  up  their 
daughter,  as  they  do  when  she  marries, 
show  the  estimation  in  which  they  have 
held  her  by  the  beauty  and  completeness 
of  the  trousseau  with  which  they  provide 
her.  This  is  her  very  own;  and  in  the 
event  of  a  divorce,  she  brings  back  with 
her  to  her  father's  house  the  clothing  and 
household  goods  that  she  carried  away  as 
a  bride. 

With  the  bride  and  her  trousseau  are 
sent  a  great  number  of  presents  from  the 
family  of  the  bride  to  the  members  of  the 
groom's  household.  Each  member  of  the 
family,  from  the  aged  grandfather  to  the 
youngest  grandchild,  receives  some  remem- 
brance of  the  occasion ;  and  even  the  ser- 
vants and  retainers,  down  to  the  jinrikisha 
men,  and  the  betto  in  the  stables,  are  not 
forgotten  by  the  bride's  relatives.  Beside 
this  present-giving,  the  friends  and  rela- 
tives of  the  bride  and  groom,  as  in  this 
country,  send  gifts  to  the  young  couple, 
often  some  article  for  use  in  the  household, 
or  crepe  or  silk  for  dresses. 


MABBIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  63 

In  old  times,  the  wedding  took  place  in 
the  afternoon,  but  it  is  now  usually  cele- 
brated in  the  evening.  The  ceremony  con- 
sists merely  in  a  formal  drinking  of  the 
native  wine  {sake)  from  a  two-spouted  cup, 
which  is  presented  to  the  mouths  of  the 
bride  and  groom  alternately.  This  drink- 
ing from  one  cup  is  a  symbol  of  the  equal 
sharing  of  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  married 
life.  At  the  ceremony  no  one  is  present 
but  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  their  go- 
betweens,  and  a  young  girl,  whose  duty  it 
is  to  present  the  cup  to  the  lips  of  the  con- 
tracting parties.  When  this  is  over,  the 
wedding  guests,  who  have  been  assembled 
in  the  next  room  during  the  ceremony, 
joiu  the  wedding  party,  a  grand  feast  is 
spread,  and  much  merriment  ensues.1 

On  the  third  day  after  the  wedding,  the 
newly  married  couple  are  expected  to  make 
a  visit  to  the  bride's  family,  and  for  this 
great  preparations  are  made.  A  large 
party  is  usually  given  by  the  bride's  pa- 
rents, either  in  the  afternoon  or  evening,  in 
honor  of  this  occasion,  to  which  the  friends 


1  Many  women  still  blacken  their  teeth  after  marriage, 
after  the  manner  universal  in  the  past ;  hut  this  custom 
is,  fortunately,  rapidly  going*  out  of  fashion. 


64       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

of  the  bride's  family  are  invited.  The  young 
couple  bring  with  them  presents  from  the 
groom's  family  to  the  bride's,  in  return  for 
the  presents  sent  on  the  wedding  day. 

The  festivities  often  begin  early  in  the 
afternoon  and  keep  up  until  late  at  night. 
A  fine  dinner  is  served,  and  music  and 
dancing,  by  professional  performers,  or 
some  other  entertainment,  serve  to  make 
the  time  pass  pleasantly.  The  bride  ap- 
pears as  hostess  with  her  mother,  enter- 
taining the  company,  and  receiving  their 
congratulations,  and  must  remain  to  speed 
the  last  departing  guest,  before  leaving 
the  paternal  roof. 

Within  the  course  of  two  or  three 
months,  the  newly  married  couple  are  ex- 
pected to  give  an  entertainment,  or  series 
of  entertainments,  to  their  friends,  as  an 
announcement  of  the  marriage.  As  the 
wedding  ceremony  is  private,  and  no  notice 
is  given,  nor  are  cards  sent  out,  this  is 
sometimes  the  first  intimation  that  is  re- 
ceived of  the  marriage  by  many  of  the 
acquaintances,  though  the  news  of  a  wed- 
ding usually  travels  quickly.  The  enter- 
tainment may  be  a  dinner  party,  given  at 
home,  or   at   some   tea-house,    similar   in 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  65 

many  ways  to  the  one  given  at  the  bride's 
home  by  her  parents.  Sometimes  it  is  a 
garden  party,  and  very  lately  it  has  become 
the  fashion  for  officials  and  people  of  high 
rank  to  give  a  ball  in  foreign  style. 

Besides  the  entertainment,  presents  of 
red  rice,  or  mochi,  are  sent  as  a  token  of 
thanks  to  all  who  have  remembered  the 
young  couple.  These  are  arranged  even 
more  elaborately  than  the  ones  sent  after 
the  birth  of  an  heir. 

The  young  people  are  not,  as  in  this 
country,  expected  to  set  up  housekeeping 
by  themselves,  and  establish  a  new  home. 
Marriages  often  take  place  early  in  life, 
even  before  the  husband  has  any  means  of 
supporting  a  family ;  and  as  a  matter  of 
course,  a  son  with  his  wife  makes  his 
abode  with  his  parents,  and  forms  simply 
a  new  branch  of  the  household. 

The  only  act  required  to  make  the  mar- 
riage legal  is  the  withdrawal  of  the  bride's 
name  from  the  list  of  her  father's  family  as 
registered  by  the  government,  and  its  entry 
upon  the  register  of  her  husband's  family. 
From  that  time  forward  she  severs  all  ties 
with  her  father's  house,  save  those  of 
affection,  and   is   more  closely  related  by 


66       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

law  and  custom  to  her  husband's  relatives 
than  to  her  own.  Even  this  legal  recogni- 
tion of  her  marriage  is  a  comparatively 
new  thing  in  Japan,  as  is  any  limitation  of 
the  right  of  divorce  on  the  part  of  the 
husband,  or  extension  of  that  right  to  the 
wife.1 

At  present  in  Japan  the  marriage  rela- 
tion is  by  no  means  a  permanent  one,  as  it 
is  virtually  dissoluble  at  the  will  of  either 
party,  and  the  condition  of  public  opinion 
is  such  among  the  lower  classes  that  it  is 
not  an  unknown  occurrence  for  a  man  to 
marry  aud  divorce  several  wives  in  succes- 
sion; and  for  a  woman,  who  has  been 
divorced  once  or  twice,  to  be  willing  and 
able  to  marry  well  a  second  or  even  a  third 
time.  Among  the  higher  classes,  the 
dread  of  the  scandal  and  gossip,  that  must 
attach  themselves  to  troubles  between  man 
and  wife,  serves  as  a  restraint  upon  too 
free  use  of  the  power  of  divorce ;  but  still, 

1  "  As  early  as  1870  an  edict  was  published  "by  which 
official  notice  and  approbation  were  made  necessary  pre- 
liminaries to  every  matrimonial  contract.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  the  class-limitations  upon  freedom  of  marriage 
were  abolished,  and  two  years  later  the  right  of  suing  for 
a  divorce  was  conceded  to  the  wife."  —  Rein's  Japan,  p. 
425. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  67 

divorces  among*  the  higher  classes  are  so 
common  now  that  one  meets  numerous 
respectable  and  respected  persons  who 
have  at  some  time  in  their  lives  gone 
through  such  an  experience. 

One  provision  of  the  law,  which  serves  to 
make  most  mothers  endure  any  evil  of 
married  life  rather  than  sue  for  a  divorce, 
is  the  fact  that  the  children  belong  to  the 
father;  and  no  matter  how  unfit  a  person 
he  may  be  to  have  the  care  of  them,  the 
disposal  of  them  in  case  of  a  divorce  rests 
absolutely  with  him.  A  divorced  woman 
returns  childless  to  her  father's  house; 
and  many  women,  in  consequence  of  this 
law  or  custom,  will  do  their  best  to  keep 
the  family  together,  working  the  more 
strenuously  in  this  direction,  the  more 
brutal  and  worthless  the  husband  proves 
himself  to  be. 

The  ancestor  worship,  as  found  in  Japan, 
the  tracing  of  relationship  in  the  male 
line  only,  and  the  generally  accepted  be- 
lief that  children  inherit  their  qualities 
from  their  father  rather  than  from  the 
mother,  make  them  his  children  and  not 
hers.  Thus  we  often  see  children  of  noble 
rank  on  the  father's  side,  but  ignoble  on 


68       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

the  mother's,  inherit  the  rank  of  their 
father,  and  not  permitted  even  to  recog- 
nize their  mother  as  in  any  way  their 
equal.  If  she  is  plebeian,  the  children 
are  not  regarded  as  tainted  by  it. 

In  the  case  of  divorce,  even  if  the  law 
allowed  the  mother  to  keep  her  children, 
it  wTould  be  almost  an  impossibility  for  her 
to  do  so.  She  has  no  means  of  earning 
her  bread  and  theirs,  for  few  occupations 
are  open  to  women,  and  she  is  forced  to 
become  a  dependent  on  her  father,  or  some 
male  relative.  Whatever  they  may  be 
willing  to  do  for  her,  it  is  quite  likely  that 
they  would  begrudge  aid  to  the  children  of 
another  family,  with  whom  custom  hardly 
recognizes  any  tie.  The  children  are  the 
children  of  the  man  whose  name  they  bear. 
If  the  woman  is  a  favorite  daughter,  it  may 
happen  that  her  father  will  take  her  and 
her  children  under  his  roof,  and  support 
them  all ;  but  this  is  a  rare  exception,  and 
only  possible  when  the  husband  first  gives 
up  all  claim  to  the  children. 

There  comes  to  my  mind  now  a  case 
illustrating  this  point,  which  I  think  I  may 
cite  without  betraying  confidence.  It  is 
that  of  a  most   attractive  young  woman 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  69 

who  was  married  to  a  worthless  husband, 
but  lived  faithfully  with  him  for  several 
years,  and  became  the  mother  of  three 
children.  The  husband,  who  seemed  at 
first  merely  good  -  for  -  nothing,  became 
worse  as  the  years  went  by,  drank  him- 
self out  of  situation  after  situation  pro- 
cured for  him  by  powerful  relatives,  and  at 
last  became  so  violent  that  he  even  beat 
his  wife  and  threatened  his  children,  a 
proceeding  most  unusual  on  the  part  of 
a  Japanese  husband  and  father.  The  poor 
wife  was  at  last  obliged  to  flee  from  her 
husband's  house  to  her  mother's,  taking 
her  children  with  her.  She  sued  for  a  di- 
vorce and  obtained  it,  and  is  now  married 
again ;  her  youth,  good  looks,  and  high 
connections  procuring  her  a  very  good 
catch  for  her  second  venture  in  matri- 
mony ;  but  her  children  are  lost  to  her, 
and  belong  wholly  to  their  worthless, 
drunken  father. 

Of  the  lack  of  permanence  in  the  mar- 
riage relation  among  the  lower  classes,  the 
domestic  changes  of  one  of  my  servants  in 
Tokyo  afford  an  amusing  illustration.  The 
man,  whom  I  had  hired  in  the  double 
capacity   of  jinriMslia   man   and   betto   or 


70       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND  WOMEN. 

groom,  was  a  strong,  faithful,  pleasant- 
faced  fellow,  recently  come  to  Tokyo  from 
the  country.  I  inquired,  when  I  engaged 
him,  whether  he  had  a  wife,  as  I  wanted 
some  one  who  could  remain  in  his  room  in 
the  stable  in  care  of  the  horse  when  he 
was  pulling  me  about  in  the  jinriMsha.  He 
replied  that  he  had  a  wife,  but  she  was  now 
at  Utsunomiya,  the  country  town  from 
which  he  had  come,  but  he  would  send  for 
her  at  once,  and  she  would  be  iu  Tokyo  in 
the  course  of  a  week  or  two.  Two  or  three 
weeks  passed  and  no  wife  appeared,  so  I 
inquired  of  my  cook  and  head  servant 
what  had  become  of  Yasaku's  wife.  He 
replied,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  that  she 
had  found  work  in  Utsunomiva  and  did  not 
wish  to  come.  A  week  more  passed,  and 
still  no  wife,  and  further  inquiries  elicited 
from  the  cook  the  information  that  Yasaku 
had  divorced  her  for  disobedience,  and  was 
on  the  lookout  for  a  new  and  more  docile 
helpmate.  His  first  thought  was  of  the 
maidservant  of  the  Japanese  family  who 
lived  in  the  same  house  with  me,  a  broad- 
faced,  red-cheeked  country  girl,  of  a  very 
low  grade  of  intelligence.  He  gave  this 
up,  however,  because  he  thought  it  would 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  71 

wot  be  polite  to  put  my  friends  to  inconve- 
nience by  taking*  away  their  servant.  His 
next  effort  was  by  negotiation  through  a 
Tokyo  friend;  but  apparently  Yasaku's 
country  manners  were  not  to  the  taste  of 
the  Tokyo  damsels,  for  he  met  with  no  suc- 
cess, and  was  at  last  driven  to  write  to  his 
father  in  Utsunomiya  asking  him  to  select 
him  a  wife  and  bring  her  down  to  Tokyo. 

The  selection  took  a  week  or  two,  and  at 
last  my  maid  told  me  that  Yasaku's  wife 
was  coming  by  the  next  morning's  train. 
A  look  into  the  betto's  quarters  in  the 
stable  showed  great  preparations  for  the 
bride.  The  mats,  new-covered  with  nice 
straw  matting,  were  white  and  clean  ;  the 
shoji  were  mended  with  new  paper ;  the 
walls  covered  with  bright-colored  pictures ; 
and  various  new  domestic  conveniences 
had  nearly  bankrupted  Yasaku,  in  spite  of 
his  large  salary  of  ten  dollars  a  month. 
He  had  ordered  a  fine  feast  at  a  neighbor- 
ing tea  house,  had  had  cards  printed  with 
his  own  name  in  English  and  Japanese, 
and  had  altogether  been  to  such  great  ex- 
pense that  he  had  had  to  put  his  winter 
clothes  in  pawn  to  secure  the  necessary 
money. 


72       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

The  day  chosen  for  the  marriage  was 
rainy,  and,  though  Yasaku  spent  all  his 
time  in  going  to  trains,  no  bridal  party 
appeared  ;  and  he  came  home  at  night  dis- 
consolate, to  smoke  his  good-night  pipe 
over  his  solitary  hibachi.  He  was,  no 
doubt,  angry  as  well  as  disconsolate,  for  he 
sat  down  and  penned  a  severe  letter  to  his 
father,  in  which  he  said  that,  if  the  bride 
did  not  appear  on  the  next  day  counted 
lucky  for  a  wedding  (no  Japanese  would 
be  married  on  an  unlucky  day),  they  could 
send  .her  back  to  her  father's  house,  for  he 
would  none  of  her.  This  letter  did  its 
work,  for  on  the  next  lucky  day,  about  ten 
days  later,  the  bride  appeared,  and  Yasaku 
was  given  two  days  of  holiday  on  the  agree- 
ment that  he  should  not  be  married  again 
while  he  remained  in  my  service.  On  the 
evening  of  the  second  day,  the  bride  came 
in  to  pay  me  her  respects,  and,  crouching 
on  her  hands  and  knees  before  me,  liter- 
ally trembled  under  the  excitement  of  her 
first  introduction  to  a  foreigner.  She  was 
a  girl  of  rather  unattractive  exterior,  fat 
and  heavy,  and  rather  older  than  Yasaku 
had  bargained  for,  I  imagine ;  at  any  rate, 
from  the  first,  he  seemed  dissatisfied  with 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  73 

his  cc  pig  in  a  poke/'  and  after  a  couple  of 
mouths  sent  her  home  to  her  parents,  and 
was  all  ready  to  start  out  agaiu  in  the  hope 
of  better  luck  next  time. 

Here  is  another  instance,  from  the  wo- 
man's side.  Upon  one  occasion,  when  I 
was  visiting  a  Japanese  lady  of  high  rank 
who  kept  a  retinue  of  servants,  the  wo- 
man who  came  in  with  the  tea  bowed  and 
smiled  upon  me  as  if  greeting  me  after  a 
long  absence.  As  I  was  in  and  out  of  the 
house  nearly  every  day,  I  was  a  little  sur- 
prised at  this  demonstration,  which  was 
quite  different  from  the  formal  bow  that 
is  given  by  the  servant  to  her  mistress's 
guest  upon  ordinary  occasions.  When  she 
went  out  my  friend  said,  "You  see  0  Kiku 
has  come  back."  As  I  did  not  know  that 
the  woman  had  been  away,  the  news  of 
her  return  did  not  affect  me  greatly  until 
I  learned  the  history  of  her  departure.  It 
seemed  that  about  a  month  before,  she  hnd 
left  her  mistress's  house  to  be  married  ; 
and  the  day  before  my  visit  she  had  quietly 
presented  herself,  and  announced  that  she 
had  come  back,  if  they  would  take  her  in. 
My  friend  had  asked  her  what  had  hap- 
pened, —  whether  she  had  found  her  hus- 


74       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

band  unkind.  No,  her  husband  was  very- 
nice,  very  kind  and  good,  but  his  mother 
was  simply  unbearable;  she  made  her  work 
so  hard  that  she  actually  had  no  time  to 
rest  at  all.  She  had  known  before  her 
marriage  that  her  proposed  mother-in-law 
was  a  hard  task-mistress,  but  her  husband 
had  promised  that  his  mother  should  live 
with  his  older  brother,  and  they  should 
have  their  housekeeping  quite  independent 
and  separate.  As  the  mother  was  then 
living  with  her  older  son,  it  seemed  un- 
likely that  she  would  care  to  move,  and 
O  Kiku  San  had  married  on  that  supposi- 
tion. But  it  seemed  that  the  wife  of  the 
older  brother  was  both  lazy  and  bad-tem- 
pered, and  the  new  wife  of  the  younger 
brother  soon  proved  herself  industrious 
aud  good-natured.  As  the  mother's  main 
thought  was  to  go  where  she  would  get 
the  most  comfort  and  waiting  upon,  she 
moved  from  the  elder  son's  house  to  that 
of  her  younger  son,  and  began  leading  her 
new  daughter-in-law  such  a  life  that  she 
soon  gave  up  the  effort  to  live  with  her 
husband,  sued  for  a  divorce,  obtained  it, 
and  was  back  in  her  old  place,  all  in  a 
month's  time  from  the  date  of  her  mar- 
riage. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  75 

But  our  readers  must  not  suppose,  from 
the  various  incidents  given,  that  few 
happy  marriages  take  place  in  Japan,  or 
that,  in  every  rank  of  life,  divorce  is  of 
every-day  occurrence.  On  the  contrary, 
there  seems  cause  for  wonder,  not  that 
there  are  so  many  divorces,  but  that  there 
are  so  many  happy  marriages,  with  wives 
and  husbands  devoted  and  faithful.  For  a 
nobleman  in  the  olden  times  to  divorce  his 
wife  would  have  caused  such  a  scandal  and 
talk  that  it  rarely  occurred.  If  the  wife 
were  disliked,  he  need  have  little  or  noth- 
ing to  do  with  her,  their  rooms,  their 
meals,  and  their  attendance  being  entirely 
separate,  but  he  rarely  took  away  from  her 
the  name  of  wife,  empty  as  it  might  be. 
She  usually  would  be  from  some  other 
noble  house,  and  great  trouble  would  arise 
between  the  families  if  he  attempted  to 
divorce  her.  The  samurai  also,  with  the 
same  loyalty  which  they  displayed  for  their 
lords,  were  loyal  to  their  wives,  and  many 
a  novel  has  been  written,  or  play  acted, 
showing  the  devotion  of  husband  and  wife. 
The  quiet,  undemonstrative  love,  though 
very  different  from  the  ravings  of  a  lover 
in  the  nineteenth  century  novel,  is  perhaps 
truer  to  life. 


76       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

Among  the  merchants  and  lower  classes 
there  has  been,  and  is,  a  much  lower  stand- 
ard of  morality,  but  the  few  years  which 
have  passed  since  the  Revolution  of  1868 
are  not  a  fair  sample  of  what  Japan  has 
been.  Noblemen,  samurai,  and  merchants 
have  had  much  to  undergo  in  the  great 
changes,  and,  as  is  the  case  in  all  such 
transition  periods,  old  customs  and  re- 
straints, and  old  standards  of  morality, 
have  been  broken  down  and  have  not  been 
replaced.  There  is  no  doubt  that  men 
have  run  to  excesses  of  all  sorts,  and  di- 
vorces have  been  much  more  frequent  of 
late  years. 

Our  little  Japanese  maiden  knows,  when 
she  blackens  her  teeth,  dons  her  wedding 
dress,  and  starts  on  her  bridal  journey  to 
her  husband's  house,  that  upon  her  good 
behavior  alone  depend  her  chances  of  a 
happy  life.  She  is  to  be  henceforth  the 
property  of  a  man  of  whom  she  probably 
knows  little,  and  who  has  the  power,  at 
any  whim,  to  send  her  back  to  her  father's 
house  in  disgrace,  deprived  of  her  children, 
with  nothing  to  live  for  or  hope  for,  ex- 
cept that  some  man  will  overlook  the  dis- 
grace of  her  divorce,  and  by  marrying  her 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  77 

give  her  the  only  opportunity  that  a  Jap- 
anese woman  can  have  of  a  home  other 
than  that  of  a  servant  or  dependent.  That 
these  evils  will  be  remedied  in  time,  there 
seems  little  reason  to  doubt,  but  just  now 
the  various  cooks  who  are  engraved  in  brew- 
ing  the  broth  of  the  new  civilization  are 
disagreed  in  regard  to  the  condiments  re- 
quired for  its  proper  flavoring.  The  con- 
servatives wish  to  flavor  strongly  with  the 
subjection  and  dependence  of  women,  be- 
lieving that  only  by  that  means  can  femi- 
nine virtue  be  preserved.  The  younger 
men,  of  foreign  education,  would  drop  into 
the  boiling  pot  the  flavor  of  culture  and 
broader  outlook  ;  for  by  this  means  they 
hope  to  secure  happier  homes  for  all,  and 
better  mothers  for  their  children.  The 
missionaries  and  native  Christians  believe 
that,  when  the  whole  mixture  is  well  im- 
pregnated with  practical  Christianity,  the 
desired  result  will  be  achieved.  All  are 
agreed  on  this  point,  that  a  strong  public 
opinion  is  necessary  before  improved  leg- 
islation can  produce  much  effect ;  and 
so,  for  the  present,  legislation  remains  in 
the  background,  until  the  time  shall  come 
when  it  can  be  used  in  the  right  way. 


78       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

Let  us  examine  the  two  remedies  sug- 
gested by  the  reformers,  and  see  what 
effect  has  been  produced  by  each  so  far, 
and  what  may  be  expected  of  them  in  the 
future.  Taking  education  first,  what  are 
the  effects  produced  so  far  by  educating 
women  to  a  point  above  the  old  Japanese 
standard?  In  many  happy  homes  to-day, 
we  find  husbands  educated  abroad,  and 
knowing  something  of  the  home  life  of 
foreign  lands,  who  have  sought  out  wives 
of  broad  intellectual  culture,  and  who  make 
them  friends  and  confidants,  not  simply 
housekeepers  aud  head-servants.  In  such 
homes  the  wife  has  freedom,  not  such  as 
is  enjoyed  by  American  women,  perhaps, 
but  equal  to  that  of  most  European  women. 
In  such  homes  love  and  equality  rule,  and 
the  power  of  the  mother-in-law  grows  weak. 
To  her  is  paid  due  respect,  but  she  seldom 
has  the  despotic  control  which  often  makes 
the  beginning  of  married  life  hard  to  the 
Japanese  wife.  These  homes  are  sending 
out  healthy  influences  that  are  daily  hav- 
ing their  effect,  and  raising  the  position  of 
women  in  Japan. 

But  for  the  young  girl  whose  mind  has 
been  broadened  by  the  new  education,  and 


MARBIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  79 

who  marries,  as  the  majority  of  Japanese 
girls  must,  not  in  accordance  with  her  own 
wishes,  but  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  her 
parents,  a  hard  life  is  in  store.  A  woman's 
education,  under  the  old  regime,  was  one 
that  fitted  her  well  for  the  position  that 
she  was  to  occupy.  The  higher  courses  of 
study  only  serve  to  make  her  kick  against 
the  pricks,  and  render  herself  miserable 
where  she  might  before  have  been  happy. 
With  mind  and  character  developed  by 
education,  she  may  be  obliged  to  enter  the 
home  of  her  husband's  family,  to  be  per- 
haps one  among  many  members  under  the 
same  roof.  In  the  training  of  her  own 
children,  in  the  care  of  her  own  health 
and  theirs,  her  wishes  and  judgment  must 
often  yield  to  the  prejudices  of  those  above 
her,  under  whose  authority  she  is,  and  it 
may  not  be  until  many  years  have  passed 
that  she  will  be  in  a  position  to  influence 
in  any  measure  the  lives  of  those  nearest 
and  dearest  to  her.  Then,  too,  her  life 
must  be  passed  entirely  within  the  home, 
with  no  opportunities  to  meet  or  to  mingle 
with  the  great  world  of  which  she  has  read 
and  studied.  Surely  her  lot  is  harder  than 
that  of  the  woman  of  the  olden  time,  whose 


80       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

plain  duty  always  lay  in  the  path  of  im- 
plicit obedience  to  her  superiors,  and  who 
never  for  one  moment  considered  obedience 
to  the  dictates  of  her  own  reason  and 
conscience  as  an  obligation  higher  than 
deference  to  the  wishes  of  husband  and 
parents.  Education,  without  further  ame- 
lioration of  their  lot  as  wives  and  mothers, 
can  but  result  in  making  the  women  dis- 
contented and  unhappy,  —  in  many  cases 
injuring  their  health  by  worry  over  the 
constant  petty  disappointments  and  baffled 
desires  of  their  lives. 

•  This  to  superficial  observers  would  seem 
a  step  backward  rather  than  forward,  and 
it  is  to  this  cause  that  the  present  reaction 
against  female  education  may  be  traced. 
The  first  generation  or  two  of  educated 
women  must  endure  much  for  the  sake  of 
those  who  come  after,  and  by  many  this 
vicarious  suffering  is  misunderstood,  and 
distaste  on  the  part  of  educated  girls  for 
marriage,  as  it  now  exists  in  Japan,  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  sure  signs  that  educa- 
tion is  a  failure.  Without  some  change 
in  the  position  of  wife  and  mother,  this 
feeling  will  grow  into  absolute  repugnance, 
if  women  continue  to  be  educated  after  the 
Western  fashion. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  81 

The  second  remedy  that  is  suggested  is 
Christianity,  a  remedy  which  is  even  now 
at  work.  Wherever  one  finds  in  Japan  a 
Christian  home,  there  one  finds  the  wife 
and  mother  occupying  the  position  that 
she  occupies  all  over  Christendom.  The 
Christian  man,  in  choosing  his  wife,  feels 
that  it  is  not  an  ordinary  contract,  which 
may  be  dissolved  at  any  time  at  the  will  of 
the  contracting  parties,  but  that  it  is  a 
union  for  life.  Consequently,  in  making 
his  choice  he  is  more  careful,  takes  more 
time,  and  thinks  more  of  the  personal 
qualities  of  the  woman  he  is  about  to 
marry.  Thus  the  chances  are  better  at 
the  beginning  for  the  establishment  of  a 
happy  home,  and  such  homes  form  centres 
of  influence  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land  to-day.  Christianity 
in  the  future  will  do  much  to  mould  public 
sentiment  in  the  right  way,  and  can  be 
trusted  as  a  force  that  is  sure  to  grow  in 
time  to  be  a  mighty  power  in  the  councils 
of  the  nation. 

One  more  remedy  might  be  suggested, 
as  a  preliminary  to  proper  legislation,  or  a 
necessary  accompaniment  of  it,  and  that 
is,  the  opening  of  new  avenues  of  employ- 


455  2. 


82        JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

ment  for  women,  and  especially  for  women 
of  the  cultivated  classes.  To-day  marriage, 
no  matter  how  distasteful,  is  the  only  open- 
ing for  a  woman ;  for  she  can  do  nothing  for 
her  own  support,  and  cannot  require  her 
father  to  support  her  after  she  has  reached 
a  marriageable  age.  As  new  ways  of  self- 
support  present  themselves,  and  a  woman 
may  look  forward  to  making  a  single  life 
tolerable  by  her  own  labor,  the  intelligent 
girls  of  the  middle  class  will  no  longer 
accept  marriage  as  inevitable,  but  will  only 
marry  when  the  suitor  can  offer  a  good 
home,  kindness,  affection,  and  security  in 
the  tenure  of  these  blessings.  So  far, 
there  is  little  employment  for  women,  ex- 
cept as  teachers;  but  even  this  change  in 
the  condition  of  things  is  forming  a  class, 
as  yet  small,  but  increasing  yearly,  of 
women  who  enjoy  a  life  of  independence, 
though  accompanied  by  much  hard  work, 
more  than  the  present  life  of  a  Japanese 
married  woman.  In  this  class  we  find 
some  of  the  most  intelligent  and  respected 
of  the  women  of  new  Japan ;  and  the 
growth  of  this  class  is  one  of  the  surest 
signs  that  the  present  state  of  the  laws 
and    customs    concerning    marriage    and 


-  MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE.  83 

divorce  is  so  unsatisfactory  to  the  women 
that  it  must  eventually  be  remedied,  if  the 
educated  and  intelligent  of  the  men  care 
to  take  for  their  wives,  and  for  the  mo- 
thers of  their  children,  any  but  the  less 
educated  aud  less  intelligent  of  the  women 
of  their  own  uation. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WIFE   AND   MOTHER. 

The  young  wife,  when  she  enters  her 
husband's  home,  is  not,  as  in  our  own  coun- 
try, entering  upon  a  new7  life  as  mistress  of 
a  house,  with  absolute  control  over  all  of 
her  little  domain.     Should  her  husband's 
parents  be  living,  she  becomes  almost  as 
their  servant,  and  even  her  husband  is  un- 
able to  defend  her  from  the  exactions  of 
her  mother-in-law,  should  this  new  relative 
be  inclined  to  make  full  use  of  the  power 
given  her  by  custom.     Happy  is  the  girl 
whose  husband  has  no  parents.     Her  com- 
fort in  life  is  materially  increased  by  her 
husband's   loss,  for,  instead  of  having  to 
serve  two  masters,  she  will  then  have  to 
serve  only  one,  and  that  one  more  kind 
and  thoughtful  of  her  strength  and  com- 
fort than  the  mother-in-law. 

In  Japan  the  idea  of  a  wife's  duty  to  her 
husband  includes  no  thought  of  compan- 
ionship on  terms  of  equality.     The  wife  is 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  85 

simply  the  housekeeper,  the  head  of  the 
establishment,  to  be  honored  by  the  ser- 
vants because  she  is  the  one  who  is  nearest 
to  the  master,  but  not  for  one  moment  to 
be  regarded  as  the  master's  equal.  She 
governs  and  directs  the  household,  if  it  be 
a  large  one,  and  her  position  is  one  of  much 
care  and  responsibility;  but  she  is  not  the 
intimate  friend  of  her  husband,  is  in  no 
sense  his  confidante  or  adviser,  except  in 
trivial  affairs  of  the  household.  She  ap- 
pears rarely  with  him  in  public,  is  ex- 
pected always  to  wait  upon  him  and  save 
him  steps,  and  must  bear  all  things  from 
him  with  smiling  face  and  agreeable  man- 
ners, even  to  the  receiving  with  open  arms 
into  the  household  some  other  woman, 
whom  she  knows  to  bear  the  relation  of 
concubine  to  her  own  husband. 

In  return  for  this,  she  has,  if  she  be  of 
the  higher  classes,  much  respect  and  honor 
from  those  beneath  her.  She  has,  in 
many  cases  the  real  though  often  incon- 
siderate affection  of  her  husband.  If  she 
be  the  mother  of  children,  she  is  doubly 
honored,  and  if  she  be  endowed  with  a  good 
temper,  good  manners,  and  tact,  she  can 
render  her  position  not  only  agreeable  to 


86      JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

herself,  but  one  of  great  usefulness  to 
those  about  her.  It  lies  with  her  alone  to 
make  the  home  a  pleasant  one,  or  to  make 
it  unpleasant.  Nothing  is  expected  of  the 
husband  in  this  direction ;  he  may  do  as  he 
likes  with  his  own,  and  no  one  will  blame 
him ;  but  if  his  home  is  not  happy,  even 
through  his  own  folly  or  bad  temper,  the 
blame  will  fall  upon  his  wife,  who  should 
by  management  do  whatever  is  necessary 
to  supply  the  deficiencies  caused  by  her 
husband's  shortcomings.  In  all  things 
the  husband  goes  first,  the  wife  second. 
If  the  husband  drops  his  fan  or  his  hand- 
kerchief the  wife  picks  it  up.  The  husband 
is  served  first,  the  wife  afterwards,  and  so 
on  through  the  countless  minutiae  of  daily 
life.  It  is  not  the  idea  of  the  strong  man 
considering  the  weak  woman,  saving  her 
exertion,  guarding  and  deferring  to  her; 
but  it  is  the  less  important  waiting  upon 
the  more  important,  the  servant  deferring 
to  her  master. 

But  though  the  present  position  of  a 
Japanese  wife  is  that  of  a  dependent  who 
owes  all  she  has  to  her  protector,  and  for 
whom  she  is  bound  to  do  all  she  can  in 
return,  the  dependence  is  in  many  cases  a 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  87 

happy  one.  The  wife's  position,  especially 
if  she  be  the  mother  of  children,  is  often 
pleasant,  and  her  chief  joy  and  pride  lies 
in  the  proper  conduct  of  her  house  and  the 
training  of  her  children.  The  service  of 
her  parents-in-law,  however,  must  remain 
her  first  duty  during  their  lifetime.  She 
must  make  it  her  care  to  see  that  they  are 
waited  upon  and  served  with  what  they 
like  at  meals,  that  their  clothes  are  care- 
fully and  nicely  made,  and  that  countless 
little  attentions  are  heaped  upon  them. 
As  long  as  her  mother-in-law  lives,  the 
latter  is  the  real  ruler  of  the  house ;  and 
though  in  many  cases  the  elder  lady  prefers 
freedom  from  responsibility  to  the  personal 
superintendence  of  the  details  of  house- 
keeping, she  will  not  hesitate  to  require  of 
her  daughter-in-law  that  the  house  be  kept 
to  her  satisfaction.  If  the  maiden's  lot  is 
to  be  the  first  daughter-in-law  in  a  large 
family,  she  becomes  simply  the  one  of  the 
family  from  whom  the  most  drudgery  is 
expected,  who  obtains  the  fewest  favors, 
and  who  is  expected  to  have  always  the 
pleasantest  of  tempers  under  circumstances 
not  altogether  conducive  to  repose  of  spirit. 
The  wife  of  the  oldest  son  has,  however, 


88       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

the  advantage  that,  when  her  mother-in- 
law  dies  or  retires,  she  becomes  the  mis- 
tress of  the  house  and  the  head  lady  of  the 
family,  a  position  for  which  her  apprentice- 
ship to  the  old  lady  has  probably  exception- 
ally well  fitted  her. 

Next  to  her  parents-in-law,  her  duty  is 
to  her  husband.  She  must  herself  render 
to  him  the  little  services  that  a  European 
expects  of  his  valet.  She  must  not  only 
take  care  of  his  clothing*,  but  must  bring  it 
to  him  and  help  him  put  it  on,  and  must 
put  away  with  care  whatever  he  has  taken 
off;  and  she  often  takes  pride  in  doing 
with  her  own  hands  many  acts  of  service 
which  might  be  left  to  servants,  and  which 
are  not  actually  demanded  of  her,  unless 
she  has  no  one  under  her  to  do  them.  In 
the  poorer  families  all  the  washing,  sew- 
ing, and  mending  that  is  required  is  always 
done  by  the  wife;  and  even  the  Empress 
herself  is  not  exempt  from  these  duties  of 
personal  service,  but  must  wait  upon  her 
husband  in  various  ways. 

When  the  earliest  beams  of  the  sun 
shine  in  at  the  cracks  of  the  dark  wooden 
shutters  which  surround  the  house  at 
night,  the  young  wife  in  the  family  softly 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  89 

arises,  puts  out  the  feeble  light  of  the 
andon,1  which  has  burned  all  uight,  and, 
quietly  opening  oue  of  the  sliding  doors, 
admits  enough  light  to  make  her  own 
toilet.  She  dresses  hastily,  only  putting  a 
few  touches  here  and  there  to  her  elaborate 
coiffure,  which  she  has  not  taken  down  for 
her  night's  rest.2  Next  she  goes  to  arouse 
the  servants,  if  they  are  not  already  up, 
and  with  them  prepares  the  modest  break- 
fast. When  the  little  lacquer  tables,  with 
rice  bowls,  plates,  and  chopsticks  are  ar- 
ranged in  place,  she  goes  softly  to  see 
whether  her  parents  and  husband  are 
awake,  and  if  they  have  hot  water,  char- 
coal fire,  and  whatever  else  they  may  need 
for  their  toilet.     Then  with  her  own  hands, 

1  The  andon  is  the  standing  lamp,  inclosed  in  a  paper 
case,  used  as  a  night  lamp  in  all  Japanese  houses. 
Until  the  introduction  of  kerosene  lamps,  the  andon  was 
the  only  light  used  in  Japanese  houses.  The  light  is  pro- 
duced by  a  pith  wick  floating  in  a  saucer  of  vegetable 
oil.    , 

2  The  pillow  used  by  ladies  is  merely  a  wooden  rest  for 
the  head,  that  supports  the  neck,  leaving  the  elaborate 
head-dress  undisturbed.  The  hair  is  dressed  by  a  pro- 
fessional hair-dresser,  who  comes  to  the  house  once  in 
two  or  three  days.  In  some  parts  of  Japan,  as  in  Kioto, 
where  the  hair  is  even  more  elaborately  dressed  than  in 
Tokyo,  it  is  much  less  frequently  arranged.  The  process 
takes  two  hours  at  least. 


90       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

or  with  the  help  of  the  servants,  she  slides 
back  the  wooden  shutters,  opening"  the 
whole  house  to  the  fresh  morning  air  and 
sunlight.  It  is  she,  also,  who  directs  the 
washing  and  wiping  of  the  polished  floors, 
and  the  folding  and  putting  away  of  the 
bedding,  so  that  all  is  in  readiness  before 
the  morning  meal. 

When  breakfast  is  over,  the  husband 
starts  for  his  place  of  business,  and  the  lit- 
tle wife  is  in  waiting  to  send  him  off  with 
her  sweetest  smile  and  her  lowest  bow, 
after  having  seen  that  his  foot-gear  - — 
whether  sandal,  clog,  or  shoe  —  is  at  the 
door  ready  for  him  to  put  on,  his  umbrella, 
book,  or  bundle  at  hand,  and  his  kuruma 
waiting  for  him. 

Certainly  a  Japanese  man  is  lucky  in 
having  all  the  little  things  in  his  life  at- 
tended to  by  his  thoughtful  wife,  —  a  good, 
considerate,  careful  body-servant,  always 
on  hand  to  bear  for  him  the  trifling  wor- 
ries and  cares.  There  is  no  wonder  that 
there  are  no  bachelors  in  Japan.  To  some 
degree,  I  am  sure,  the  men  appreciate 
these  attentions;  for  they  often  become 
much  in  love  with  their  sweet,  helpful 
wives,  though  they  do  not  share  with  them 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  91 

the  greater  things  of  life,  the  ambitions 
and  the  hopes  of  men. 

The  husband  started  on  his  daily  rounds, 
the  wife  settles  down  to  the  work  of  the 
house.  Her  sphere  is  within  her  home, 
and  though,  unlike  other  Asiatic  women, 
she  goes  without  restraint  alone  through 
the  streets,  she  does  not  concern  herself 
with  the  great  world,  nor  is  she  occupied 
with  such  a  round  of  social  duties  as  fill 
the  lives  of  society  women  in  this  country. 
Yet  she  is  not  barred  out  from  all  inter- 
course with  the  outer  world,  for  there  are 
sometimes  great  dinner  parties,  given  per- 
haps at  home,  when  she  must  appear  as 
hostess,  side  by  side  with  her  husband,  and 
share  with  him  the  duty  of  entertaining 
the  guests.  There  are,  besides,  smaller 
gatherings  of  friends  of  her  husband,  when 
she  must  see  that  the  proper  refreshments 
are  served,  if  they  be  only  the  omnipres- 
ent tea  and  cake.  She  may,  perhaps,  join 
in  the  number  and  listen  to  the  conver- 
sation ;  but  if  there  are  no  ladies,  she  will 
probably  not  appear,  except  to  attend  to 
the  wants  of  her  guests.  There  are  also 
lady  visitors  —  friends  and  relatives —  who 
come   to   make    calls,    oftentimes    from    a 


92      JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN. 

distance,  and  nearly  always  unexpectedly, 
whose  entertainment  devolves  on  the  wife. 
Owing*  to  the  great  distances  in  many  of 
the  cities,  and  the  difficulties  that  used  to 
attend  going  from  place  to  place,  it  has 
become  a  custom  not  to  make  frequent 
visits,  but  long  ones  at  long  intervals.  A 
guest  often  stays  several  hours,  remaining 
to  lunch  or  dinner,  as  the  case  may  be,  and, 
should  the  distance  be  great,  may  spend 
the  night.  So  rigid  are  the  requirements 
of  Japanese  hospitality  that  no  guest  is 
ever  allowed  to  leave  a  house  without  hav- 
ing been  pressed  to  partake  of  food,  if  it 
be  only  tea  and  cake.  Even  tradesmen  or 
messengers  who  come  to  the  house  must 
be  offered  tea,  and  if  carpenters,  garden- 
ers, or  workmen  of  any  kind  are  employed 
about  the  house,  tea  must  be  served  in  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon  with  a  light  lunch, 
and  tea  sent  out  to  them  often  during  their 
day's  work.  If  a  guest  arrives  in  jinrikisha, 
not  only  the  guest,  but  the  jinrikisha  men 
must  be  supplied  with  refreshments.  All 
these  things  involve  much  thought  and 
care  on  the  part  of  the  lady  of  the  house. 

In  the  homes  of  rich  and  influential  men 
of  wide  acquaintance,  there  is  a  great  deal 


WIFE  AND  MOTHEB.  93 

going  on  to  make  a  pleasant  variety  for 
the  ladies  of  the  household,  even  although 
the  variety  involves  extra  work  and  respon- 
sibility. The  mistress  of  such  a  house- 
hold sees  and  hears  a  great  deal  of  life ; 
and  her  position  requires  no  little  wisdom 
and  tact,  even  where  the  housewife  has 
the  assistance  of  good  servants,  capable,  as 
many  are,  of  sharing  not  only  the  work, 
but  the  responsibility  as  well.  Clever  wives 
in  such  homes  see  and  learn  much,  in 
an  indirect  way,  of  the  outside  world  in 
which  the  men  live;  and  may  become,  if 
they  possess  the  natural  capabilities  for 
the  work,  wise  advisers  and  sympathizers 
with  their  husbands  in  many  things  far 
beyond  their  ordinary  field  of  action.  An 
intelligent  woman,  with  a  strong  will,  has 
often  been,  unseen  and  unknown,  a  mighty 
influence  in  Japan.  That  her  power  for 
good  or  bad,  outside  of  her  influence  as 
wife  and  mother,  is  a  recognized  fact,  is 
seen  in  the  circumstance  that  in  novels 
and  plays  women  are  frequently  brought  in 
as  factors  in  political  plots  and  organized 
rebellions,  as  well  as  in  acts  of  private  re- 
venge. 

Still  the  life  of  the  average  woman  is  a 


94       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND    WOMEN. 

quiet  one,  with  little  to  interrupt  the  mo- 
notony of  her  days  with  their  never-ending 
round  of  duties ;  and  to  the  most  secluded 
homes  only  an  occasional  guest  comes  to 
enliven  the  dull  hours.  The  principal  oc- 
cupation of  the  wife,  outside  of  her  house- 
keeping and  the  little  duties  of  personal 
service  to  husband  and  parents,  is  needle- 
work. Every  Japanese  woman  (excepting 
those  of  the  highest  rank)  knows  how  to 
sew,  and  makes  not  only  her  own  gar- 
ments and  those  of  her  children,  but  her 
husband's  as  well.  Sewing  is  one  of  the 
essentials  in  the  education  of  a  Japanese 
girl,  and  from  childhood  the  cutting  and 
putting  together  of  crepe,  silk,  and  cotton 
is  a  familiar  occupation  to  her.  Though 
Japanese  garments  seem  very  simple,  cus- 
tom requires  that  each  stitch  and  seam  be 
placed  in  just  such  a  way ;  and  this  way  is 
something  of  a  task  to  learn.  To  the  un- 
initiated foreigner,  the  general  effect  of  the 
loosely  worn  kimono  is  the  same,  whether 
the  garment  be  well  or  ill  made;  but  the 
skillful  seamstress  can  easily  discover  that 
this  seam  is  not  turned  just  as  it  should 
be,  or  that  those  stitches  are  too  long  or 
too  short,  or  carelessly  or  unevenly  set. 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  95 

Fancy  work1  or  embroidery  is  not  done 
in  the  house,  the  gorgeous  embroidered 
Japanese  robes  being  the  product  of  pro- 
fessional workmen.  Instead  of  the  endless 
fancy  work  with  silks,  crewels,  or  worsteds, 
over  which  so  many  American  ladies  spend 
their  leisure  hours,  many  of  the  Japanese 
ladies,  even  of  the  highest  rank,  devote 
much  time  to  the  cultivation  of  the  silk- 
worm. In  country  homes,  and  in  the  great 
cities  as  well,  wherever  spacious  grounds 
afford  room  for  the  growth  of  mulberry 
trees,  silkworms  are  raised  and  watched 
with  care ;  an  employment  giving  much 
pleasure  to  those  engaged  in  it. 

It  is  difficult  for  any  one  who  has  not 
experimented  in  this  direction  to  realize 
how  tender  these  little  spinners  are.  If  a 
strong  breeze  blow  upon  them,  they  are 
likely  to  suffer  for  it,  and  the  least  change 
in  the  atmosphere  must  be  guarded  against. 
For  forty  days  they  must  be  carefully 
watched,  and  the  great,  shallow,  bamboo 
basket  trays  containing  them  changed  al- 
most  daily.      New   leaves   for   their   food 

1  The  one  exception  to  this  statement,  so  far  as  I  know, 
is  the  species  of  silk  mosaic  made  by  the  ladies  in  the 
daimios1  houses.     (See  chap,  vii.) 


96       JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

must  be  given  frequently,  and  as  the  least 
dampness  might  be  fatal,  each  leaf,  in  case 
of  rainy  weather,  is  carefully  wiped.  Then, 
too,  the  different  ages  of  the  worms  must 
be  considered  in  preparing  their  food ;  as, 
for  the  young  worms,  the  leaves  should  be 
cut  up,  while  for  the  older  ones  it  is  better 
to  serve  them  whole.  When,  finally,  the 
buzzing  noise  of  the  crunching  leaves  has 
ceased,  and  the  last  worm  has  put  him- 
self to  sleep  in  his  precious  white  cocoon, 
the  wrork  of  the  ladies  is  ended ;  for  the 
cocoons  are  sent  to  women  especially 
skilled  in  the  work,  by  them  to  be  spun 
off,  and  the  thread  afterwards  woven  into 
the  desired  fabric.  When  at  last  the  silk, 
woven  and  dyed,  is  returned  to  the  ladies 
by  whose  care  the  worms  were  nourished 
until  their  work  was  done,  it  is  shown 
with  great  pride  as  the  product  of  the 
year's  labor,  and  if  given  as  a  present  will 
be  highly  prized  by  the  recipient. 

Among  the  daily  tasks  of  the  housewife, 
one,  and  by  no  means  the  least  of  her 
duties,  is  to  receive,  duly  acknowledge,  and 
return  in  suitable  manner,  the  presents 
received  in  the  family.  Presents  are  not 
confined  to  special  seasons,  although  upon 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  97 

certain  occasions  etiquette  is  rigid  in  its 
requirements  in  this  matter,  but  they  may 
be  given  and  received  at  all  times,  for  the 
Japanese  are  preeminently  a  present-giv- 
ing nation.  For  every  present  received, 
sooner  or  later,  a  proper  return  must  be 
sent,  appropriate  to  the  season  and  to  the 
rank  of  the  receiver,  and  neatly  arranged 
in  the  manner  that  etiquette  prescribes. 
Presents  are  not  necessarily  elaborate; 
callers  bring  fruit  of  the  season,  cake,  or 
any  delicacy,  and  a  visit  to  a  sick  person 
must  be  accompanied  by  something  appro- 
priate. Children  visiting  in  the  family  are 
always  given  toys,  and  for  this  purpose  a 
stock  is  kept  on  hand.  The  present-giving 
culminates  at  the  close  of  the  year,  when 
all  friends  and  acquaintances  exchange 
gifts  of  more  or  less  value,  according  to 
their  feelings  and  means.  Should  there  be 
any  one  who  has  been  especially  kind,  and 
to  whom  return  should  be  made,  this  is  the 
time  to  do  so. 

Tradesmen  send  presents  to  their  pa- 
trons, scholars  to  teachers,  patients  to 
their  physicians,  and,  in  short,  it  is  the 
time  when  all  obligations  and  debts  are 
paid  off,  in  one  way  or  another.     On  the 


98       JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

seventh  day  of  the  seventh  month,  there  is 
another  general  interchange  of  presents, 
although  not  so  universal  as  at  the  New 
Year.  It  can  easily  be  imagined  that  all 
this  present- giving  entails  much  care,  es- 
pecially in  families  of  influence ;  and  it 
must  be  attended  to  personally  by  the  wife, 
who,  in  the  secret  recesses  of  her  store- 
room, skillfully  manages  to  rearrange  the 
gifts  received,  so  that  those  not  needed  in 
the  house  may  be  sent,  not  back  to  their 
givers,  but  to  some  place  where  a  present 
is  due.  The  passing-on  of  the  presents  is 
an  economy  not  of  course  acknowledged, 
but  frequently  practiced  even  in  the  best 
families,  as  it  saves  much  of  the  otherwise 
ruinous  expense  of  this  custom. 

As  time  passes  by,  occasional  visits  are 
paid  by  the  young  wife  to  her  own  parents 
or  to  other  relatives.  At  stated  times,  too, 
she,  and  others  of  the  family,  will  visit 
the  tombs  of  her  husband's  ancestors,  or  of 
her  own  parents,  if  they  are  no  longer  liv- 
ing, to  make  offerings  and  prayers  at  the 
graves,  to  place  fresh  branches  of  the 
sakaki  l  before  the  tombs,  and  to  see  that 

1  Sakaki,  the  Cleyera  Japonica,  a  sacred  plant  em- 
blematic of  purity,  and  much  used  at  funerals  and  in 
the  decoration  of  graves. 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  99 

the  priests  in  charge  of  the  cemetery  have 
attended  to  all  the  little  things  which  the 
Japanese  believe  to  be  required  by  the 
spirits  of  the  dead.  Even  these  visits  are 
often  looked  forward  to  as  enlivening  the 
monotony  of  the  humdrum  home  life. 
Sometimes  all  the  members  of  the  family 
go  together  on  a  pleasure  excursion,  spend- 
ing the  day  out  of  doors,  in  beautiful  gar- 
dens, when  some  one  of  the  much-loved 
flowers  of  the  nation  is  in  its  glory ;  and 
the  little  wife  may  join  in  this  pleasure 
with  the  rest,  but  more  often  she  is  the 
one  who  remains  at  home  to  keep  the  house 
in  the  absence  of  others.  The  theatre,  too, 
a  source  of  great  amusement  to  Japanese 
ladies,  is  often  a  pleasure  reserved  for  a 
time  later  in  life. 

The  Japanese  mother  takes  great  de- 
light and  comfort  in  her  children,  and 
her  constant  thought  and  care  is  the 
right  direction  of  their  habits  and  man- 
ners. She  seems  to  govern  them  entirely 
by  gentle  admonition,  and  the  severest 
chiding  that  is  given  them  is  always  in 
a  pleasant  voice,  and  accompanied  by  a 
smiling  face.  No  matter  how  many  ser- 
vants there  may  be,    the    mother's    influ- 


100    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

ence  is  always  direct  and  personal.  No 
thick  walls  and  long  passageways  separate 
the  nursery  from  the  grown  people's  apart- 
ments, but  the  thin  paper  partitions  make 
it  possible  for  the  mother  to  know  al- 
ways what  her  children  are  doing,  and 
whether  they  are  good  and  gentle  with 
their  nurses,  or  irritable  and  passionate. 
The  children  never  leave  the  house,  nor 
return  to  it,  without  going  to  their  mo- 
ther's room,  and  there  making  the  little 
bows  and  repeating  the  customary  phrases 
used  upon  such  occasions.  In  the  same 
way,  when  the  mother  goes  out,  all  the 
servants  and  the  children  escort  her  to 
the  door ;  and  when  her  attendant  shouts 
"  0  kaeri"  which  is  the  signal  of  her  re- 
turn, children  and  servants  hasten  to  the 
gate  to  greet  her.,  and  do  what  they  can 
to  help  her  from  her  conveyance  and  make 
her  home-coming  pleasant  and  restful. 

The  father  has  little  to  do  with  the 
training  of  his  children,  which  is  left  al- 
most entirely  to  the  mother,  and,  except 
for  the  interference  of  the  mother-in-law, 
she  has  her  own  way  in  their  training, 
until  they  are  long  past  childhood.  The 
children  are  taught  to  look  to  the  father 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  101 

as  the  head,  and  to  respect  and  obey  him 
as  the  one  to  whom  all  must  defer;  but 
the  mother  comes  next,  almost  as  high  in 
their  estimation,  and,  if  not  so  much  feared 
and  respected,  certainly  enjoys  a  larger 
share  of  their  love. 

The  Japanese  mother's  life  is  one  of 
perfect  devotion  to  her  children ;  she  is 
their  willing  slave.  Her  days  are  spent 
in  caring  for  them,  her  evenings  in  watch- 
ing over  them ;  and  she  spares  neither 
time  nor  trouble  in  doing  anything  for 
their  comfort  and  pleasure.  Ill  sickness,3 
in  health,  day  and  night,  the  little  ones 
are  her  one  thought;  and  from  the  home 
of  the  noble  to  the  humble  cot  of  the 
peasant,  this  tender  mother-love  may  be 
seen  in  all  its  different  phases.  The  Japa- 
nese woman  has  so  few  on  whom  to  lavish 
her  affection,  so  little  to  live  for  beside  her 
children,  and  no  hopes  in  the  future  except 
through  them,  that  it  is  no  wonder  that* 

1  Since  the  introduction  of  the  foreign  system  of  modi- 
cine  and  nursing-,  the  Japanese  realize  so  acutely  the  lack 
of  conveniences  and  appliances  for  nursing  the  sick  in 
their  own  homes,  that  cases  of  severe  or  even  serious  ill 
ness  are  usually  sent  to  hospitals,  where  the  invalids  can 
have  the  comforts  that  even  the  wealthy  Japanese  homes 
cannot  furnish. 


102    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

she  devotes  her  life  to  their  care  and  ser- 
vice, deeming  the  drudgery  that  custom 
requires  of  her  for  them  the  easiest  of 
all  her  duties.  Even  with  plenty  of  ser- 
vants, the  mother  performs  for  her  chil- 
dren nearly  all  the  duties  often  delegated 
to  nurses  in  this  country.  Mother  and 
babe  are  rarely  separated,  night  or  day, 
during  the  first  few  years  of  the  baby's 
life,  and  the  mother  denies  herself  any 
entertainment  or  journey  from  home  when 
the  baby  cannot  accompany  her.  To  give 
the  husband  any  share  in  the  baby-work 
would  be  an  unheard-of  thing,  and  a  dis- 
grace to  the  wife ;  for  in  public  and  in 
private  the  baby  is  the  mother's  sole 
charge,  and  the  husband  is  never  asked 
to  sit  up  all  night  with  a  sick  baby,  or 
to  mind  it  in  any  way  at  all.  Nothing 
in  all  one's  study  of  Japanese  life  seems 
more  beautiful  and  admirable  than  the 
influence  of  the  mother  over  her  children, 
—  an  influence  that  is  gentle  and  all-per- 
vading, bringing  out  all  that  is  sweetest 
and  noblest  in  the  feminine  character,  and 
affording  the  one  almost  unlimited  oppor- 
tunity of  a  Japanese  woman's  life.  The 
lot  of  a  childless  wife  in  Japan  is  a  sad 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  103 

one.  Not  only  is  she  denied  the  hopes 
and  the  pleasures  of  a  mother  in  her  chil- 
dren, but  she  is  an  object  of  pity  to  her 
friends,  and  well  does  she  know  that  Con- 
fucius has  laid  down  the  law  that  a  man  is 
justified  in  divorcing  a  childless  wife.  All 
feel  that  through  her,  innocent  though  she 
is,  the  line  has  ceased  ;  that  her  duty  is 
unfulfilled;  and  that,  though  the  name  be 
given  to  adopted  sons,  there  is  no  heir  of 
the  blood.  A  man  rarely  sends  away  his 
wife  solely  witli  this  excuse,  but  children 
are  the  strongest  of  the  ties  which  bind 
together  husband  and  wife,  and  the  child- 
less wife  is  far  less  sure  of  pleasing  her 
husband.  In  many  cases  she  tries  to  make 
good  her  deficiencies  by  her  care  of  adopted 
children;  in  them  she  often  finds  the  love 
which  fills  the  void  in  her  heart  and  home, 
and  she  receives  from  them  in  after-life  the 
respect  and  care  which  is  the  crown  of  old 
age. 

We  have  hitherto  spoken  of  married  life 
when  the  wife  is  received  into  her  hus- 
band's home.  Another  interesting  side  of 
Japanese  marriage  is  when  a  man  enters 
the  wife's  family,  taking  her  name  and 
becoming   entirely   one  of  her   family,  as 


104    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN, 

usually  the  wife  becomes  of  the  husband's. 
When  there  are  daughters  but  no  sons  in 
a  family  to  inherit  the  name,  one  of  three 
things  may  happen  :  a  son  may  be  adopted 
early  in  life  and  grow  up  as  heir;  or  he 
may  be  adopted  with  the  idea  of  marrying 
one  of  the  daughters  ;  or,  again,  no  one 
may  have  been  formally  adopted,  but  on  the 
eldest  daughter's  coming  to  a  marriageable 
age,  her  family  and  friends  seek  for  her  a 
yoshii,  that  is  to  say,  some  man  (usually  a 
younger  son)  who  is  willing  and  able  to 
give  up  his  family  name,  and,  by  marry- 
ing the  daughter,  become  a  member  of 
her  family  and  heir  to  the  name.  He 
cuts  off  all  ties  from  his  own  family,  and 
becomes  a  member  of  hers,  and  the  young 
couple  are  expected  to  live  with  her  pa- 
rents. In  this  case  the  tables  are  turned, 
and  it  is  he  who  has  to  dread  the  mother- 
in-law  ;  it  is  his  turn  to  have  to  please  his 
new  relatives  and  to  do  all  he  can  to  be 
agreeable.  He,  too,  may  be  sent  away  and 
divorced  by  the  all-powerful  parents,  if  he 
does  not  please  ;  and  such  divorces  are  not 
uncommon.  Of  course,  in  such  marriages, 
the  woman  has  the  greater  power,  and  the 
man  has  to  remember  what  he  owes  her ; 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  105 

and  though  the  woman  yields  to  him  obedi- 
ently in  all  respects,  it  is  an  obedience  not 
demanded  by  the  husband,  as  under  other 
circumstances.  In  such  marriages  the 
children  belong  to  the  family  whose  name 
they  bear,  so  that  in  case  of  divorce  they 
remain  in  the  wife's  family,  unless  some 
special  arrangement  is  made  about  them. 

It  may  be  wondered  why  young  men 
ever  care  to  enter  a  family  as  yoshii.  There 
is  only  one  answer,  —  it  is  the  attraction 
of  wealth  and  rank,  very  rarely  that  of  the 
daughter  herself.  In  the  houses  of  rich 
daimios  without  sons,  yoshii  are  very  com- 
mon, and  there  are  many  younger  sons  of 
the  nobility,  themselves  of  high  birth,  but 
without  prospects,  who  are  glad  enough  to 
become  great  lords.  In  feudal  times,  the 
number  of  samurai  families  was  limited. 
Several  sons  of  one  family  could  not  estab- 
lish different  samurai  families,  but  all  but 
the  eldest  son,  if  they  formed  separate 
houses,  must  enroll  themselves  among  the 
ranks  of  the  common  people.  Hence  the 
younger  sons  were  often  adopted  into  other 
samurai  families  as  yosliii,  where  it  was  de- 
sired to  secure  a  succession  to  a  name  that 
must  otherwise  die  out.     Since  the  liesto- 


106    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

ration,  and  the  breaking*  down  of  the  old 
class  distinctions,  young  men  care  more 
for  independence  than  for  their  rank  as 
samurai;  and  it  is  now  quite  difficult  to 
find  yoskii  to  enter  samurai  families,  unless 
it  be  because  of  the  attractiveness  and 
beauty  of  the  young  lady  herself.  Many  a 
young  girl  who  could  easily  make  a  good 
marriage  with  some  suitable  husband,  could 
she  enter  his  family,  is  now  obliged  to  take 
some  inferior  man  as  yoshii,  because  few 
men  in  these  days  are  willing  to  change 
their  names,  give  up  their  independence, 
and  take  upon  themselves  the  support  of 
aged  parents-in-law  ;  for  this  also  is  ex- 
pected of  the  yoshii,  unless  the  family  that 
he  enters  is  a  wealthy  one. 

From  this  custom  of  yoshii,  and  its  effect 
upon  the  wife's  position,  we  see  that,  in 
certain  cases,  Japanese  women  are  treated 
as  equal  with  men.  It  is  not  because  of 
their  sex  that  they  are  looked  down  upon 
and  held  in  subjection,  but  it  is  because  of 
their  almost  universal  dependence  of  posi- 
tion. The  men  have  the  right  of  inheri- 
tance, the  education,  habits  of  self-reliance, 
and  are  the  bread-winners.  Wherever  the 
tables  are  turned,  and  the  men  are  depeu- 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  107 

dents  of  the  women,  and  even  where  the 
women  are  independent  of  the  men,  — 
there  we  find  the  relations  of  men  to 
women  vastly  changed.  The  women  of 
Japan  must  know  how  to  do  some  definite 
work  in  the  world  beyond  the  work  of  the 
home,  so  that  their  position  will  not  be  one 
of  entire  dependence  upon  father,  husband, 
or  son.  If  fathers  divided  their  estates 
between  sons  and  daughters  alike,  and 
women  were  given,  before  the  law,  right 
to  hold  property  in  their  own  names,  much 
would  be  accomplished  towards  securing 
them  in  their  positions  as  wives  and  mo- 
thers; and  divorce,  the  great  evil  of  Japa- 
nese home  life  to-day,  would  become  simply 
a  last  resort  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the 
home,  as  it  is  in  most  civilized  countries 
now. 

The  difference  between  the  women  of 
the  lower  and  those  of  the  higher  classes, 
in  the  matter  of  equality  with  their  hus- 
bands, is  quite  noticeable.  The  wife  of  the 
peasant  or  merchant  is  much  nearer  to 
her  husband's  level  than  is  the  wife  of  the 
Emperor.  Apparently,  each  step  in  the 
social  scale  is  a  little  higher  for  the  man 
than  it  is  for  the  woman,  and  lifts  him  a 


108    JAPANESE  GIELS  AND   WOMEN. 

little  farther  above  his  wife.  The  peasant 
and  his  wife  work  side  by  side  in  the  field, 
put  their  shoulders  to  the  same  wheel,  eat 
together  in  the  same  room,  at  the  same 
time,  and  whichever  of  them  happens  to 
be  the  stronger  in  character  governs  the 
house,  without  regard  to  sex.  There  is  no 
great  gulf  fixed  between  them,  and  there 
is  frequently  a  consideration  for  the  wife 
shown  by  husbands  of  the  lower  class,  that 
is  not  unlike  what  we  see  in  our  own  coun- 
try. I  remember  the  case  of  a  jinrikisha 
man  employed  by  a  friend  of  mine  in  To- 
kyo, who  was  much  laughed  at  by  his 
friends  because  he  actually  used  to  spend 
some  of  his  leisure  moments  in  drawing 
the  water  required  for  his  household  from 
a  well  some  distance  away,  and  carrying 
the  heavy  buckets  to  the  house,  in  order 
to  save  the  strength  of  his  little,  delicate 
wife.  That  cases  of  such  devotion  are  rare 
is  no  doubt  true,  but  that  they  occur 
shows  that  there  is  here  and  there  a  recog- 
nition of  the  claims  that  feminine  weak- 
ness has  upon  masculine  strength. 

A  frequent  sight  in  the  morning,  in 
Tokyo,  is  a  cart  heavily  laden  with  wood, 
charcoal,  or  some  other  country  produce, 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  109 

creating  slowly  along  the  streets,  pro- 
pelled by  a  farmer  and  his  family.  Some- 
times oue  will  see  an  old  man,  his  son,  and 
his  son's  wife  with  a  baby  on  her  back,  all 
pushing  or  pulling  with  might  and  main ; 
the  woman  with  tucked -up  skirts  and  tight- 
fitting  blue  trousers,  a  blue  towel  envelop- 
ing her  head, — only  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  men  by  her  smaller  size  and  the 
baby  tied  to  her  back.  But  when  even- 
ing comes,  and  the  load  of  produce  has 
been  disposed  of,  the  woman  and  baby  are 
seen  seated  upon  the  cart,  while  the  two 
men  pull  it  back  to  their  home  in  some 
neighboring  village.  Here,  again,  is  the 
recognition  of  the  law  that  governs  the 
position  of  woman  in  this  country,  —  the 
theory,  not  of  inferior  position,  but  of 
inferior  strength ;  and  the  sight  of  the 
women  riding  back  in  the  empty  carts  at 
night,  drawn  by  their  husbands,  is  the 
thing  that  strikes  a  student  of  Japanese 
domestic  life  as  nearest  to  the  customs  of 
our  own  civilization  in  regard  to  the  rela- 
tions of  husbands  and  wives. 

Throughout  the  country  districts,  where 
the  women  have  a  large  share  in  the  labor 
that  is  directly  productive  of  wealth,  where 


110     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

they  not  only  work  in  the  rice  fields,  pick 
the  tea  crops,  gather  the  harvests,  and 
help  draw  them  to  market,  but  where  they 
have  their  own  productive  industries,  such 
as  caring  for  the  silkworms,  and  spin- 
ning, and  weaving  both  silk  and  cotton, 
we  find  the  conventional  distance  between 
the  sexes  much  diminished  by  the  impor- 
tant character  of  feminine  labor;  but  in 
the.  cities,  and  among  the  classes  who  are 
largely  either  indirect  producers  or  non- 
producers,  the  only  labor  of  the  women  is 
that  personal  service  which  we  account  as 
menial.  It  is  for  this  reason,  perhaps,  that 
the  gap  widens  as  we  go  upward  in  so- 
ciety, and  between  the  same  social  levels 
as  we  go  cityward. 

The  wife  of  the  countryman,  though  she 
may  work  harder  and  grow  old  earlier,  is 
more  free  and  independent  than  her  city 
sister;  and  the  wife  of  the  peasant,  push- 
ing her  produce  to  market,  is  in  some  ways 
happier  and  more  considered  than  the  wife 
of  the  noble,  who  must  spend  her  life 
among  her  ladies-in-waiting,  in  the  seclu- 
sion of  her  great  house  with  its  beautiful 
garden,  the  plaything  of  her  husband  in 
his  leisure  hours,  but  never  his  equal,  or 
the  sharer  of  his  cares  or  of  his  thoughts. 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  Ill 

One  of  the  causes  which  must  be  men- 
tioned as  contributing  to  the  lowering  of 
the  wife's  position,  among  the  higher  and 
more  wealthy  classes,  lies  in  the  system  of 
concubinage  which  custom  allows,  and  the 
law  until  quite  recently  has  not  discour- 
aged. From  the  Emperor,  who  was,  by  the 
old  Chinese  code  of  morals,  allowed  twelve 
supplementary  wives,  to  the  samurai,  who 
are  permitted  two,  the  men  of  the  higher 
classes  are  allowed  to  introduce  into  their 
families  these  mekake,  who,  while  beneath 
the  wife  in  position,  are  frequently  more 
beloved  by  the  husband  than  the  wife  her- 
self. It  must  be  said,  however,  to  the 
credit  of  many  husbands,  that  in  spite  of 
this  privilege,  which  custom  allows,  there 
are  many  men  of  the  old  school  who  are 
faithful  to  one  wife,  and  never  introduce 
this  discordant  element  into  the  household. 
Even  should  he  keep  melmke,  it  is  often 
unknown  to  the  wife,  and  she  is  placed  in 
a  separate  establishment  of  her  own.  And 
in  spite  of  the  code  of  morals  requiring 
submission  in  any  case  on  the  part  of  the 
woman,  there  are  many  wives  of  the  samu- 
rai and  lower  classes  who  have  enough 
spirit  and  wit  to  prevent  their  husbands 


112     JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND  WOMEN. 

from  ever  introducing  a  rival  under  the 
same  roof.  In  this  way  the  practice  is 
made  better  than  the  theory. 

Not  so  with  the  more  helpless  wife  of 
the  nobleman,  for  wrealth  and  leisure  make 
temptation  greater  for  the  husband.  She 
submits  unquestioningly  to  the  custom  re- 
quiring that  the  wife  treat  these  women 
with  all  civility.  Their  children  she  may 
even  have  to  adopt  as  her  own.  The  lot  of 
the  mehake  herself  is  rendered  the  less  en- 
durable, from  the  American  point  of  view, 
by  the  fact  that,  should  the  father  of  her 
child  decide  to  make  it  his  heir,  the  mother 
is  thenceforth  no  more  to  it  than  any  other 
of  the  servants  of  the  household.  For  in- 
stance, suppose  a  hitherto  childless  noble  is 
presented  with  a  son  by  one  of  his  concu- 
bines, and  he  decides  by  legal  adoption  to 
make  that  son  his  heir :  the  child  at  its  birth, 
or  as  soon  afterwards  as  is  practicable,  is 
taken  from  its  mother  and  placed  in  other 
hands,  and  the  mother  never  sees  her  own 
child  until,  on  the  thirtieth  day  after  its 
birth,  she  goes  with  the  other  servants  of 
the  household  to  pay  her  respects  to  her 
young  master.  If  it  were  not  for  the  habit 
of  abject  obedience  to  parents  which  Japa- 


WIFE  AND  MOTHEB.  113 

nese  custom  has  exalted  into  the  one  femi- 
nine virtue,  few  women  could  be  found  of 
respectable  families  who  would  take  a  posi- 
tion so  devoid  of  either  honor  or  satisfac- 
tion of  any  kind  as  that  of  mShdkS.  That 
these  positions  are  not  sought  after  must  be 
said,  to  the  honor  of  Japanese  womanhood. 
A  nobleman  may  obtain  samurai  women 
for  his  "0  mekalie"  (literally,  honorable 
concubines),  but  they  are  never  respected 
by  their  own  class  for  taking  such  positions. 
In  the  same  way  the  mSkdkS  of  samurai 
are  usually  from  the  heimin.  No  woman 
who  has  any  chance  of  a  better  lot  will  ever 
take  the  unenviable  position  of  mekakS. 

A  law  which  has  recently  been  promul- 
gated strikes  at  the  root  of  this  evil,  and,  if 
enforced,  will  in  course  of  time  go  far  to- 
ward extirpating  it.  Henceforth  in  Japan, 
no  child  of  a  concubine,  or  of  adoption  from 
any  source,  can  inherit  a  noble  title.  The 
heir  to  the  throne  must  hereafter  be  the 
son,  not  only  of  the  Emperor,  but  of  the 
Empress,  or  the  succession  passes  to  some 
collateral  branch  of  the  family.  This  law 
does  not  apply  to  Prince  Haru,  the  present 
heir  to  the  throne,  as,  although  he  is  not 
the  son   of  the  Empress,  he  was  legally 


114     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

adopted  before  the  promulgation  of  the 
law ;  but  should  he  die,  it  will  apply  to  all 
future  heirs. 

That  public  opinion  is  moving'  in  the 
right  direction  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  young  men  of  the  higher  classes  do 
not  care  to  marry  the  daughters  of  mSkdkS, 
be  they  ever  so  legally  adopted  by  their 
own  fathers.  When  the  girls  born  of  such 
unions  become  a  drug  in  the  matrimonial 
market,  and  the  boys  are  unable  to  keep 
up  the  succession,  the  mSTcakS  will  go  out 
of  fashion,  and  the  real  wife  will  once  more 
assume  her  proper  importance.1 

Upon  the  11th  day  of  February,  1889, 
the  day  on  which  the  Emperor,  by  his  own 
act  in  giving  a  constitution  to  the  people, 
limited  his  own  power  for  the  sake  of  put- 
ting his  nation  upon  a  level  with  the  most 
civilized   nations  of  the  earth,  he  at  the 

1  It  is  worth  while  to  mention  in  this  connection  the 
noteworthy  efforts  made  by  the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union  of  Japan  in  calling-  the  attention  of  the 
public  to  this  custom,  and  in  arousing  public  sentiment 
in  favor  of  legislation  against  not  only  this  system,  but 
against  the  licensed  houses  of  prostitution.  Though 
there  has  not  yet  been  any  practical  result,  much  discus- 
sion has  ensued  in  the  newspapers  and  magazines,  lec- 
tures have  been  given,  and  much  strong  feeling  aroused, 
which  may,  before  long,  produce  radical  change. 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  115 

same  time,  and  for  the  first  time,  publicly 
placed  his  wife  upon  his  own  level.  In  an 
imperial  progress  made  through  the  streets 
of  Tokyo,  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  for 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Japan,  rode 
together  in  the  imperial  coach.  Until 
then,  the  Emperor,  attended  by  his  chief 
gentlemen-in-waiting  and  his  guards,  had 
always  headed  the  procession,  while  the 
Empress  must  follow  at  a  distance  with  her 
own  attendants.  That  this  act  on  the  part 
of  the  Emperor  signifies  the  beginning  of  a 
new  and  better  era  for  the  women  of  Japan, 
we  cannot  but  hope;  for  until  the  position 
of  the  wife  and  mother  in  Japan  is  im- 
proved and  made  secure,  little  permanence 
can  be  expected  in  the  progress  of  the 
nation  toward  what  is  best  and  highest 
in  the  Western  civilization.  Better  laws, 
broader  education  for  the  women,  a  change 
in  public  opinion  on  the  subject,  caused  by 
the  study,  by  the  men  educated  abroad,  of 
the  homes  of  Europe  and  America,  —  these 
are  the  forces  which  alone  can  bring  the 
women  of  Japan  up  to  that  place  in  the 
home  which  their  intellectual  and  moral 
qualities  fit  them  to  fill.  That  Japan  is 
infinitely  ahead  of  other  Oriental  countries 


116    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

in  her  practices  in  this  matter  is  greatly 
to  her  credit;  but  that  she  is  far  behind 
the  civilized  nations  of  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica, not  only  in  practice  but  in  theory,  is  a 
fact  that  is  incontestable,  and  a  fact  that, 
unless  changed,  must  sooner  or  later  be  a 
stumbling-block  in  the  path  of  her  progress 
toward  the  highest  civilization  of  which  she 
is  capable.1  The  European  practice  cannot 
be  grafted  upon  the  Asiatic  theory,  but  the 
change  in  the  home  must  be  a  radical  one, 
to  secure  permanent  good  results.  As  long 
as  the  wife  has  no  rights  which  the  hus- 
band is  bound  to  respect,  no  great  advance 

1  Many  of  the  thinking-  men  of  Japan,  though  fully 
recognizing-  the  injustice  of  the  present  position  of  woman 
in  society,  and  the  necessity  of  reform  in  the  marriage 
and  divorce  laws,  refuse  to  see  the  importance  of  any 
movement  to  change  them.  Their  excuse  is,  that  such 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  hushand  over  his  wife  might  be 
abused,  but  that  in  fact  it  is  not.  Wrongs  and  injustice 
are  rare,  they  argue,  and  kind  treatment,  affection,  and 
even  respect  for  the  wife  is  the  general  rule ;  and  that 
the  keeping  of  the  power  in  the  hands  of  the  husband  is 
better  than  giving  too  much  freedom  to  women  who  are 
without  education.  These  men  wish  to  wait  until  every 
woman  is  educated,  before  acting-  in  a  reform  movement, 
while  many  conservatives  oppose  the  new  system  of  edu- 
cation for  girls  as  making  them  unwomanly.  Between 
these  two  parties,  the  few  who  really  wish  for  a  change 
are  utterly  unable  to  act. 


WIFE  AND  MOTHER.  117 

can  be  made,  for  human  nature  is  too 
mean  and  selfish  to  give  in  all  eases  to 
those  who  are  entirely  unprotected  by  law, 
and  entirely  unable  to  protect  themselves, 
those  things  which  the  moral  nature  de- 
clares to  be  their  due.  In  the  old  slave 
times  in  the  South,  many  of  the  negroes 
were  better  fed,  better  cared  for,  and  hap- 
pier than  they  are  to-day ;  but  they  were 
nevertheless  at  the  mercy  of  men  who 
too  often  thought  only  of  themselves,  and 
not  of  the  human  bodies  and  souls  over 
which  they  had  unlimited  power.  It  was  a 
condition  of  things  that  could  not  be  pre- 
vented by  educating  the  masters  so  as  to 
induce  them  to  be  kind  to  their  slaves ;  it 
was  a  condition  that  was  wrong  in  theory, 
and  so  could  not  be  righted  in  practice.  In 
the  same  w7ay  the  position  of  the  Japanese 
wife  is  wrong  in  theory,  and  can  never  be 
righted  until  legislation  has  given  to  her 
rights  which  it  still  denies.  Education  will 
but  aggravate  the  trouble  to  a  point  beyond 
endurance.  The  giving  to  the  wife  power 
to  obtain  a  divorce  will  not  help  much,  but 
simply  tend  to  weaken  still  further  the 
marriage  tie.  Nothing  can  help  surely 
and  permanently  but  the  growth  of  a  sound 


118    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

public  opinion,  in  regard  to  the  position  of 
the  wife,  that  will,  sooner  or  later,  have 
its  effect  upon  the  laws  of  the  country. 
Legislation  once  effected,  all  the  rest  will 
come,  and  the  wife,  secure  in  her  home  and 
her  children,  will  be  at  the  point  where 
her  new  education  can  be  of  use  to  her 
in  the  administration  of  her  domestic  af- 
fairs and  the  training  of  her  children ; 
and  where  she  will  finally  become  the 
friend  and  companion  of  her  husband,  in- 
stead of  his  mere  waitress,  seamstress,  and 
housekeeper,  —  the  plaything  of  his  leisure 
moments,  too  often  the  victim  of  his  ca- 
prices. 


CHAPTER  V. 

OLD   AGE. 

No  Japanese  woman  is  ashamed  to  show 
that  she  is  getting  along  in  years,  but  all 
take  pains  that  every  detail  of  the  dress 
and  coiffure  shall  show  the  full  age  of  the 
wearer.  The  baby  girl  is  dressed  in  the 
brightest  of  colors  and  the  largest  of  pat- 
terns, and  looks  like  a  gay  butterfly  or 
tropical  bird.  As  she  grows  older,  colors 
become  quieter,  figures  smaller,  stripes 
narrower,  until  in  old  age  she  becomes  a 
little  gray  moth  or  plain-colored  sparrow. 
By  the  sophisticated  eye,  a  woman's  age 
can  be  told  with  considerable  accuracy  by 
the  various  little  things  about  her  cos- 
tume,1  and    no   woman    cares    to   appear 


1  Children  wear  their  hair  on  top  of  their  heads;  while 
very  young",  and  the  manner  of  arranging  it  is  one  of  the 
distinctive  marks  of  the  age  of  the  child.  The  marumagi, 
the  style  of  headdress  of  married  ladies,  consisting  of  a 
large  puff  of  hair  on  the  top  of  the  head,  diminishes  in 
size  with  the  age  of  the  wearer  until,  at  sixty  or  seventy, 
it  is  not  more  than  a  few  inches  in  width.  The  number, 
size,  and  variety  of  ornamental  hairpins,  and  the  tortoise- 
shell  comb  worn  in  front,  all  vary  with  the  age. 


120    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

younger  than  her  real  age,  or  hesitates  to 
tell  with  entire  frankness  the  number  of 
years  that  have  passed  over  her  head. 

The  reason  for  this  lies,  at  least  in  part, 
in  the  fact  that  every  woman  looks  forward 
to  the  period  of  old  age  as  the  time  when 
she  will  attain  freedom  from  her  life-long 
service  to  those  about  her,  —  will  be  in  the 
position  of  adviser  of  her  sons,  and  director 
of  her  daughters-in-law ;  will  be  a  person 
of  much  consideration  in  the  family,  privi- 
leged to  amuse  herself  in  various  ways,  to 
speak  her  own  mind  on  most  subjects,  and 
to  be  waited  upon  and  cared  for  by  chil- 
dren and  grandchildren,  in  return  for  her 
long  years  of  faithful  service  in  the  house- 
hold. Should  her  sight  and  other  bodily 
powers  remain  good,  she  will  doubtless 
perform  many  light  tasks  for  the  general 
good,  will  seldom  sit  idle  by  herself,  but 
will  help  about  the  sewing  and  mending, 
the  marketing,  shopping,  housework,  and 
care  of  the  babies,  tell  stories  to  her  grand- 
children after  their  lessons  are  learned, 
give  the  benefit  of  her  years  of  experience 
to  the  young  people  wrho  are  still  bearing 
the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  and,  by  her 
prayers  and  visits  to  the  temple  at  stated 


OLD  AGE.  121 

seasons,  will  secure  the  favor  of  the  gods 
for  the  whole  family,  as  well  as  make  her 
own  preparations  for  entry  into  the  great 
unknown  toward  which  she  is  rapidly  drift- 
ing. Is  there  wonder  that  the  young 
wife,  steering  her  course  with  difficulty 
among  the  many  shoals  and  whirlpools  of 
early  married  life,  looks  forward  with  an- 
ticipation to  the  period  of  comparative  rest 
and  security  that  comes  at  the  end  of  the 
voyage?  As  she  bears  all  things,  endures 
all  things,  suffers  long,  and  is  kind,  as  she 
serves  her  mother-in-law,  manages  her 
husband's  household,  cares  for  her  babies, 
the  thought  that  cheers  and  encourages 
her  in  her  busy  and  not  too  happy  life  is 
the  thought  of  the  sunny  calm  of  old  age, 
when  she  cau  lay  her  burdens  aud  cares 
on  younger  shoulders,  and  bask  in  the 
warmth  and  sunshine  which  this  Indian 
Summer  of  her  life  will  bring  to  her. 

In  the  code  of  morals  of  the  Japanese, 
obedience  to  father,  husband,  or  son  is  ex- 
alted into  the  chief  womanly  virtue,  but 
the  obedience  and  respect  of  children,  both 
male  and  female,  to  their  parents,  also  oc- 
cupies a  prominent  position  in  their  ethical 
system.     Hence,  in  this  latter  stage  of  a 


122    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND    WOMEN. 

woman's  career,  the  obedience  expected  of 
her  is  often  only  nominal,  and  in  any  case 
is  not  so  absolute  and  unquestioning  as 
that  of  the  early  period;  and  the  consid- 
eration and  respect  that  a  son  is  bound  to 
show  to  his  mother  necessitates  a  care  of 
her  comfort,  and  a  consultation  of  her 
wishes,  that  renders  her  position  one  of 
much  greater  freedom  than  can  be  ob- 
tained by  any  woman  earlier  in  life.  She 
has,  besides,  reached  an  age  when  she  is 
not  expected  to  remain  at  home,  and  she 
may  go  out  into  the  streets,  to  the  theatre, 
or  other  shows,  without  the  least  restraint 
or  fear  of  losing  her  dignity. 

A  Japanese  woman  loses  her  beauty  early. 
At  thirty-five  her  fresh  color  is  usually  en- 
tirely gone,  her  eyes  have  begun  to  sink  a 
little  in  their  sockets,  her  youthful  round- 
ness and  symmetry  of  figure  have  given 
place  to  an  absolute  leanness,  her  abundant 
black  hair  has  grown  thin,  and  much  care 
and  anxiety  have  given  her  face  a  pathetic 
expression  of  quiet  endurance.  One  sel- 
dom sees  a  face  that  indicates  a  soured 
temper  or  a  cross  disposition,  but  the  lines 
that  show  themselves  as  the  years  go  by 
are  lines  that  indicate  suffering  and  dis- 


OLD  AGE.  123 

appointment,  patiently  and  sweetly  borne. 
The  lips  never  forget  to  smile ;  the  voice 
remains  always  cheerful  and  sympathetic, 
never  grows  peevish  and  worried,  as  is  too 
often  the  case  with  overworked  or  disap- 
pointed women  in  this  country.  But  youth 
with  its  hopeful  outlook,  its  plans  and  its 
ambitions,  gives  way  to  age  with  its  peace- 
ful waiting*  for  the  end,  with  only  a  brief 
struggle  for  its  place  ;  and  the  woman  of 
thirty- five  is  just  at  the  point  when  she 
has  bid  good-by  to  her  youth,  and,  having 
little  to  hope  for  in  her  middle  life,  is 
doing  her  work  faithfully,  and  looking  for- 
ward to  an  old  age  of  privilege  and  au- 
thority, the  mistress  of  her  son's  house, 
and  the  ruler  of  the  little  domain  of  home. 
But  I  have  spoken  so  far  only  of  those 
happy  women  whose  sous  grow  to  maturity, 
and  who  manage  to  evade  the  dangerous 
reefs  of  divorce  upon  which  so  many  lives 
are  shipwrecked.  What  becomes  of  the 
hundreds  who  have  no  children  to  rise  up 
and  call  them  blessed,  but  who  have  in 
old  age  to  live  as  dependents  upon  their 
brothers  or  nephews?  Even  these,  who 
in  this  country  often  lead  hard  and  unre- 
warded lives  of  toil  among  their  happier 


124    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

relatives,  find  in  old  age  a  pleasanter  lot 
than  that  of  youth.  Many  such  old  ladies 
I  have  met,  whose  short  hair  or  shaven 
heads  proclaim  to  all  who  see  them  that 
the  sorrow  of  widowhood  has  taken  from 
them  the  joy  that  falls  to  other  women, 
but  whose  cheerful,  wrinkled  faces  and 
happy,  childlike  ways  have  given  one  a  feel- 
ing of  pleasure  that  the  sorrow  is  past,  and 
peace  and  rest  have  come  to  their  declin- 
ing years.  Fulfilling  what  little  house- 
hold tasks  they  can,  respected  and  self- 
respecting  members  of  the  household,  the 
0  Bd  San,  or  Aunty,  is  not  far  removed  in 
the  honor  and  affection  of  the  children 
from  the  0  Bd  San,  or  Grandma,  but  both 
alike  find  a  peaceful  shelter  in  the  homes 
of  those  nearest  and  dearest  to  them. 

One  of  the  happiest  old  ladies  I  have 
ever  seen  was  one  who  had  had  a  rough 
and  stormy  life.  The  mother  of  many 
children,  most  of  whom  had  died  in  in- 
fancy, she  was  at  last  left  childless  and  a 
widow.  In  her  children's  death  the  last 
tie  that  bound  her  to  her  husband's  family 
was  broken,  and,  rather  than  be  a  burden 
to  them,  she  made  her  home  for  many 
years  with  her  own  younger  brother,  tak- 


OLD  AGE.  125 

ing  up  again  the  many  cares  and  duties  of 
a  mother's  life  in  sharing  with  the  mother 
the  bringing  up  of  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren. One  by  one,  from  the  oldest  to  the 
youngest,  each  has  learned  to  love  the  old 
aunty,  to  be  lulled  asleep  on  her  back,  and 
to  go  to  her  in  trouble  when  mother's 
hands  were  too  full  of  work.  Many  the 
caress  received,  the  drives  and  walks  en- 
joyed in  her  company,  the  toys  and  can- 
dies that  came  out  unexpectedly  from  the 
depths  of  mysterious  drawers,  to  comfort 
many  an  hour  of  childish  grief.  That  was 
years  ago,  and  the  old  aunty's  hard  times 
are  nearly  over.  Hale  and  hearty  at  three- 
score years  and  ten,  she  has  seen  these 
children  grow  up  one  by  one,  until  now 
some  have  gone  to  new  homes  of  their 
own.  Her  bent  form  and  wrinkled  face 
are  ever  welcome  to  her  children,  —  hers 
by  the  right  of  years  of  patient  care  and 
toil  for  them.  They  now,  in  their  turn, 
enjoy  giving  her  pleasure,  and  return  to 
her  all  the  love  she  has  lavished  upon 
them.  It  is  a  joy  to  see  her  childlike 
pride  and  confidence  in  them  all,  and  to 
know  that  they  have  filled  the  place  left 
vacant  by  the  dead  with  whom  had  died 
all  her  hopes  of  earthly  happiness. 


126     JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

The  old  women  of  Japan, — how  their 
withered  faces,  bent  frames,  and  shrunken, 
yellow  hands  abide  in  one's  memory  !  One 
seldom  sees  among  them  what  we  would 
call  beauty,  for  the  almost  universal  shrink- 
ing with  age  that  takes  place  among  the 
Japanese  covers  the  face  with  multitudi- 
nous wrinkles,  and  produces  the  effect  of  a 
withered  russet  apple ;  for  the  skin,  which 
in  youth  is  usually  brightened  by  red 
cheeks  and  glossy  black  hair,  in  old  age, 
when  color  leaves  cheek  and  hair,  has  a 
curiously  yellow  and  parchment-like  look. 
But  with  all  their  wrinkles  and  ugliness, 
there  is  a  peculiar  charm  about  the  old 
women  of  Japan. 

In  Tokyo,  when  the  grass  grows  long 
upon  your  lawn,  and  you  send  to  the  gar- 
dener to  come  and  cut  it,  no  boy  with 
patent  lawn-mower,  nor  stalwart  country- 
man with  scythe  and  sickle,  answers  your 
summons,  but  some  morning  you  awake  to 
find  your  lawn  covered  with  old  women. 
The  much -washed  cotton  garments  are 
faded  to  a  light  blue,  the  exact  match  of 
the  light  blue  cotton  towels  in  which  their 
heads  are  swathed,  and  on  hands  and 
knees,  each  armed  with  an  enormous  pair 


OLD  AGE.  127 

of  shears,  the  old  ladies  clip  and  chatter 
cheerfully  all  day  long,  until  the  lawn  is  as 
smooth  as  velvet  under  their  careful  cut- 
ting. An  occasional  rest  under  a  tree,  for 
pipes  and  tea,  is  the  time  for  much  cheer- 
ful talk  and  gossip  ;  but  the  work,  though 
done  slowly  and  with  due  attention  to  the 
comfort  of  the  worker,  is  well  done,  and 
certainly  accomplished  as  rapidly  as  any 
one  could  expect  of  laborers  who  earn  only 
from  eight  to  twelve  cents  a  day.  Another 
employment  for  this  same  class  of  laborers 
is  the  picking  of  moss  and  grass  from  the 
crevices  of  the  great  walls  that  inclose  the 
moats  and  embankments  of  the  capital. 
Mounted  on  little  ladders,  they  pick  and 
scrape  with  knives  until  the  wall  is  clear 
and  fresh,  with  no  insidious  growth  to  push 
the  great  uncemented  stones  out  of  their 
places. 

In  contrast  with  these  humble  but  cheer- 
ful toilers  may  be  mentioned  another  class 
of  women,  often  met  with  in  the  great 
cities.  Dressed  in  rags  and  with  covered 
heads  and  faces,  they  wTander  about  the 
streets  playing  the  samisen  outside  the 
latticed  windows,  and  singing  with  cracked 
voices  some  wailing  melody.     As  they  go 


128    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

from  bouse  to  bouse,  gaining"  a  miserable 
pittance  by  their  weird  music,  they  seem 
the  embodiment  of  all  that  is  hopeless  and 
broken-hearted.    What  they  are  or  whence 
they  come,  I  know  not,  but  they  always  re- 
mind me  of  the  grasshopper  in  the  fable, 
who  danced  and   sang  through  the  brief 
summer,  to  come,  wailing  and  wretched, 
seeking   aid   from  her  thriftier   neighbor 
when  at  last  the  winter  closed  in  upon  her. 
As  one  rides  about  the  streets,  one  often 
sees  a  little,  white-haired  old  woman  trot- 
ting about  with  a  yoke  over  her  shoulders 
from  which   are   suspended  two  swinging 
baskets,  filled  with  fresh  vegetables.     The 
fact  that  her  hair  is  still  growing  to  its 
natural  length  shows  that  she  is  still  a  wife 
and  not  a  widow ;  her  worn  and  patched 
blue  cotton  clothes,  bleached  light  from 
much  washing,  show  that  extreme  poverty 
is  her  lot  in  life ;  and  as  she  hobbles  along 
with  the  gait  peculiar  to  those  who  carry  a 
yoke,  my  thoughts  are  busy  with  her  home, 
which,  though  poor  and  small,  is  doubtless 
clean  and  comfortable,  but  my  eye  follows 
her  through  the  city's  crowd,  where   la- 
borer,  soldier,    student,  and   high    official 
jostle  each  other  by  the  way.     Suddenly  I 


OLD  AGE.  129 

see  her  pause  before  the  gateway  of  a  tem- 
ple. She  sets  her  burden  down,  and  there 
in  the  midst  of  the  bustling  throng,  with 
bowed  head,  folded  hands,  and  moving  lips, 
she  invokes  her  god,  snatching  this  mo- 
ment from  her  busy  life  to  seek  a  blessing 
for  herself  and  her  dear  ones.  The  throng 
moves  busily  on,  making  a  little  eddy 
around  the  burden  she  has  laid  down,  but 
paying  no  heed  to  the  devout  little  figure 
standing  there ;  then  in  a  moment  the 
prayer  is  finished  ;  she  stoops,  picks  up  her 
yoke,  balances  it  on  her  shoulders,  and 
moves  on  with  the  crowd,  to  do  her  share 
while  her  strength  lasts,  and  to  be  cared 
for  tenderly,  I  doubt  not,  by  children  and 
children's  children  when  her  work  is  done. 
Another  picture  comes  to. me,  too,  a  pic- 
ture of  one  whose  memory  is  an  inspiring 
thought  to  the  many  who  have  the  honor 
to  call  her  "  mother/5  A  stately  old  lady, 
left  a  widow  many  years  ago,  before  the 
recent  changes  had  wrought  havoc  prepar- 
atory to  further  progress,  she  seemed  al- 
ways to  me  the  model  of  a  mother  of  the 
old  school.  Herself  a  woman  of  thorough 
classical  education,  her  example  and  teach- 
ing were  to  both  sons  and  daughters  a  con- 


130    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

stant  inspiration ;  and  in  her  old  age  she 
found  herself  the  honored  head  of  a  family 
well  known  in  the  arts  of  war  and  peace, 
a  goodly  company  of  sons  and  daughters, 
every  one  of  them  heirs  of  her  spirit  and 
of  her  intellect.  Though  conservative  her- 
self, and  always  clinging  to  the  old  cus- 
toms, she  put  no  block  in  the  path  of  her 
children's  progress,  and  her  fine  character, 
heroic  spirit,  and  stanch  loyalty  to  what 
she  believed  were  worth  more  to  her  chil- 
dren than  anything  else  could  have  been. 
Tried  by  war,  by  siege,  by  banishment,  by 
danger  and  sufferings  of  all  kinds,  to  her 
was  given  at  last  an  old  age  of  prosperity 
among  children  of  whom  she  might  well 
be  proud.  Keeping  her  physical  vigor  to 
the  end,  and  dying  at  last,  after  an  illness 
of  only  two  days,  her  spirit  passed  out  into 
the  great  unknown,  ready  to  meet  its  dan- 
gers as  bravely  as  she  had  met  those  of 
earth,  or  to  enjoy  its  rest  as  sweetly  and 
appreciatively  as  she  had  enjoyed  that  of 
her  old  age  in  the  house  of  her  oldest  son. 
My  acquaintance  with  her  was  limited  by 
our  lack  of  common  language,  but  was  a 
most  admiring  and  appreciative  one  on  my 
side;   and   I   esteem   it   one  of  the   chief 


OLD  AGE.  131 

honors  of  my  stay  in  Japan,  that  upon  my 
last  meeting  with  her,  two  weeks  before 
her  death,  she  gave  me  her  wrinkled  but 
still  beautiful  and  delicately  shaped  hand 
at  parting,  —  a  deference  to  foreign  cus- 
toms that  she  only  paid  upon  special  occa- 
sions. 

Two  weeks  later,  amid  such  rain  as  Jap- 
anese skies  know  all  too  well  how  to  let 
fall,  I  attended  her  funeral  at  the  ceme- 
tery of  Aoyama.  The  cemetery  chapel  was 
crowded,  but  a  place  was  reserved  for  me, 
on  account  of  special  ties  that  bound  me 
to  the  family,  just  behind  the  long  line  of 
white-robed  mourners.  In  the  Buddhist 
faith  she  had  lived,  and  by  the  Buddhist 
ceremonial  she  was  buried,  —  the  chanted 
ritual,  the  gorgeously  robed  priests,  and 
the  heavy  smell  of  incense  in  the  air  re- 
minding one  of  a  Roman  Catholic  cere- 
mony. The  white  wooden  coffin  was  placed 
upon  a  bier  at  the  entrance  to  the  chapel, 
and  when  the  priests  had  done  their  work, 
and  the  ecclesiastical  ceremony  was  over, 
the  relatives  arose,  one  by  one,  walked  over 
to  the  coffin,  bowed  low  before  it,  and 
placed  a  grain  of  incense  upon  the  little 
censer  that  stood  on   a  table  before  the 


132    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

bier,  then,  bowing  again,  retired  to  their 
places.  Slowly  and  solemnly,  from  the  tall 
soldier  son,  his  hair  already  streaked  with 
gray,  to  the  two-year-old  grandchild,  all 
paid  this  last  token  of  respect  to  a  noble 
spirit;  and  after  the  relatives  the  guests, 
each  in  the  order  of  rank  or  nearness  to 
the  deceased,  stepped  forward  and  per- 
formed the  same  ceremony  before  leaving 
the  room,  What  the  meaning  of  the  rite 
was,  I  did  not  know,  whether  a  worship  of 
strange  gods  or  no;  but  to  me,  as  I  per- 
formed the  act,  it  only  signified  the  honor 
in  which  I  held  the  memory  of  a  heroic 
woman  who  had  done  well  her  part  in  the 
world  according  to  the  light  that  God  had 
given  her. 

Japanese  art  loves  to  picture  the  old  wo- 
man with  her  kindly,  wrinkled  face,  leaving 
out  no  wrinkle  of  them  all,  but  giving  with 
equal  truthfulness  the  charm  of  expression 
that  one  finds  in  them.  Long  life  is  de- 
sired by  all  as  passionately  as  by  ancient 
Hebrew  poet  and  psalmist,  and  with  good 
reason,  for  only  by  long  life  can  a  woman  at- 
tain the  greatest  honor  and  happiness.  We 
often  exclaim  in  impatience  at  the  thought 
of  the   weakness   and   dependence   of  old 


OLD  AGE.  133 

age,  and  pray  that  we  may  die  in  the  full- 
ness of  our  powers,  before  the  decay  of  ad- 
vancing* years  has  made  us  a  burden  upon 
our  friends.  But  in  Japan,  dependence  is 
the  lot  of  woman,  and  the  dependence  of 
old  age  is  that  which  is  most  respected 
and  considered.  An  aged  parent  is  never 
a  burden,  is  treated  by  all  with  the  greatest 
love  and  tenderness;  and  if  times  are  hard, 
and  food  and  other  comforts  are  scarce,  the 
children,  as  a  matter  of  course,  deprive 
themselves  and  their  children  to  give  un- 
grudgingly to  their  old  father  and  mother. 
Faults  there  are  many  in  the  Japanese 
social  system,  but  ingratitude  to  parents, 
or  disrespect  to  the  aged,  must  not  be 
named  among  them ;  and  Young  America 
may  learn  a  salutary  lesson  by  the  study  of 
the  place  that  old  people  occupy  in  the 
home. 

It  is  not  only  for  the  women  of  Japan, 
but  for  the  men  as  well,  that  old  age  is  a 
time  of  peace  and  happiness.  When  a  man 
reaches  the  age  of  fifty  or  thereabouts, 
often  while  apparently  in  the  height  of  his 
vigor,  he  gives  up  his  work  or  business  and 
retires,  leaving  all  the  property  and  income 
to  the  care  of  his  eldest  son,  upon  whom 


134    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

he  becomes  entirely  dependent  for  his  sup- 
port.1 This  support  is  never  begrudged 
him,  for  the  care  of  parents  by  their  chil- 
dren is  as  much  a  matter  of  course  in 
Japan  as  the  care  of  children  by  those  who 
give  them  birth.  A  man  thus  rarely  makes 
provision  for  the  future,  and  looks  with 
scorn  on  foreign  customs  which  seem  to 
betoken  a  fear  lest,  in  old  age,  ungrateful 
children  may  neglect  their  parents  and 
cast  them  aside.  The  feeling,  so  strong  in 
America,  that  dependence  is  of  itself  irk- 
some and  a  thing  to  be  dreaded,  is  al- 
together strange  to  the  Japanese  mind. 
The  married  son  does  not  care  to  take  his 
wife  to  a  new  and  independent  home  of  his 
own,  and  to  support  her  and  her  children  by 
his  own  labor  or  on  his  own  income,  but  he 
takes  her  to  his  father's  house,  and  thinks 
it  no  shame  that  his  family  live  upon  his 
parents.  But  in  return,  when  the  parents 
wish  to  retire  from  active  life,  the  son  takes 
upon  himself  ungrudgingly  the  burden  of 

1  It  is  this  custom  of  going  into  early  retirement  that 
made  it  possible  for  the  nobles  in  old  times  to  keep  the 
Emperor  always  a  child.  The  ruling  Emperor  would  be 
induced  to  retire  from  the  throne  at  the  age  of  sixteen  or 
twenty ;  thus  making  room  for  some  baby,  who  would  be 
in  his  turn  the  puppet  of  his  ambitious  courtiers. 


OLD  AGE.  135 

their  support,  and  the  bread  of  dependence 
is  never  bitter  to  the  parents'  lips,  for  it  is 
given  freely.  To  the  time-honored  Euro- 
pean belief,  that  a  young  man  must  be  in- 
dependent and  enterprising  in  early  life  in 
order  to  lay  by  for  old  age,  the  Japanese  will 
answer  that  children  in  Japan  are  taught 
to  love  their  parents  rather  than  ease  and 
luxury,  and  that  care  for  the  future  is 
not  the  necessity  that  it  is  in  Europe 
and  America,  where  money  is  above  every- 
thing else,  —  even  filial  love.  This  habit  of 
thought  may  account  for  the  utter  want  of 
provision  for  the  future,  and  the  disregard 
for  things  pertaining  to  the  accumulation 
of  wealth,  which  often  strikes  curiously  the 
foreigner  in  Japan.  A  Japanese  considers 
his  provision  for  the  future  made  when  he 
lias  brought  up  and  educated  for  useful- 
ness a  large  family  of  children.  He  in- 
vests his  capital  in  their  support  and  edu- 
cation, secure  of  bountiful  returns  in  their 
gratitude  and  care  for  his  old  age.  It  is 
hard  for  the  men  of  old  Japan  to  under- 
stand the  rush  and  struggle  for  riches  in 
America,  — a  struggle  that  too  often  leaves 
not  a  pause  for  rest  or  quiet  pleasure  until 
sickness  or  death  overtakes  the  indefatiga- 


136    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

ble  worker.  The  go  inkyo l  of  Japan  is  glad 
enough  to  lay  clown  early  in  life  the  cares 
of  the  world,  to  have  a  few  years  of  calm 
and  peace,  undisturbed  by  responsibilities 
or  cares  for  outside  matters.  If  he  be  an 
artist  or  a  poet,  he  may,  uninterrupted, 
spend  his  days  with  his  beloved  art.  If  he 
is  fond  of  the  ceremonial  tea,  he  has  whole 
afternoons  that  he  may  devote  to  this  aes- 
thetic repast ;  and  even  if  he  has  none  of 
these  higher  tastes,  he  will  always  have 
congenial  friends  who  are  ready  to  share 
the  sake  bottle,  to  join  in  a  quiet  smoke  over 
the  hibaclii,  or  to  play  the  deep-engrossing 
game  of  #o,  or  shogi,  the  Japanese  chess. 
To  the  Japanese  mind,  to  be  in  the  com- 
pany of  a  few  kindred  souls,  to  spend  the 
long  hours  of  a  summer's  afternoon  at  the 
ceremonial  tea  party,  sipping  tea  and  con- 
versing in  a  leisurely  manner  on  various 
subjects,  is  an  enjoyment  second  to  none. 
A  cultivated  Japanese  of  the  old  times  must 
receive  an  education  fitting  him  especially 

1  Go  Inkyo  Sama  is  the  title  belonging  to  a  retired  old 
gentleman  or  old  lady.  Inkyo  is  the  name  of  the  house  or 
suite  of  rooms  set  apart  for  such  a  person,  and  the  title 
itself  is  made  up  of  this  word  with  the  Chinese  honorific 
go  and  the  title  Sama,  the  same  as  San,  used  in  address- 
ing all  persons  except  inferiors. 


OLD  AGE.  137 

for  such  pursuits.  At  these  meetings  of 
friends,  artistically  or  poetically  inclined, 
the  time  is  spent  in  making  poems  and  ex- 
changing wittily  turned  sentiments,  to  be 
read,  commented  on,  and  responded  to;  or 
in  the  making  of  drawings,  with  a  few  bold 
strokes  of  the  brush,  in  illustration  of  some 
subject  given  out.  Such  enjoyments  as 
these,  the  Japanese  believe,  cannot  be  ap- 
preciated or  even  understood  by  the  prac- 
tical, rush-ahead  American,  the  product  of 
the  wonderful  but  material  civilization  of 
the  West. 

Thus,  amid  enjoyments  and  easy  labors 
suited  to  their  closing  years,  the  elder 
couple  spend  their  days  with  the  young 
people,  cared  for  and  protected  by  them. 
Sometimes  there  will  be  a  separate  suite 
of  rooms  provided  for  them;  sometimes  a 
little  house  away  from  the  noises  of  the 
household,  and  separated  from  the  main 
building  by  a  well-kept  little  garden.  In 
any  case,  as  long  as  they  live  they  will 
spend  their  days  in  quiet  and  peace ;  and  it 
is  to  this  haven,  the  inhjo,  that  all  Japa- 
nese look  forward,  as  to  the  time  when 
they  may  carry  out  their  own  inclinations 
and  tastes  with  an  income  provided  for  the 
rest  of  their  days. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

COURT   LIFE. 

The  court  of  the  Emperor  was,  in  the 
early  ages  of  Japan,  the  centre  of  whatever 
culture  and  refinement  the  country  could 
boast,  and  the  emperors  themselves  took 
an  active  part  in  the  promotion  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  earliest  history  of  Japan  is  so 
wrapped  in  the  mists  of  legend  and  tradi- 
tion that  only  here  and  there  do  we  get 
glimpses  of  heroic  figures,  —  leaders  in 
those  early  days.  Demigods  they  seem,  chil- 
dren of  Heaven,  receiving  from  Heaven  by 
special  revelation  the  wisdom  or  strength 
by  means  of  which  they  conquered  their 
enemies,  or  gave  to  their  subjects  new  arts 
and  better  laws.  The  traditional  emperors, 
the  early  descendants  of  the  great  Jimmu 
Tenno,1  seem  to  have  been  merely  conquer- 

1  The  Japanese  claim  for  their  present  Emperor  direct 
descent  from  Jimmu  Tenno,  the  Son  of  the  Gods;  and 
it  is  for  this  reason  that  the  Emperor  is  supposed  to  be 
divine,  and  the  representative  of  the  gods  on  the  earth. 


COURT  LIFE.  139 

ing  chieftains,  who  by  virtue  of  their  de- 
scent were  regarded  as  divine,  but  who 
lived  the  simple,  hard)7  life  of  the  savage 
king,  surrounded  by  wives  and  concubines, 
done  homage  to  by  armed  retainers  and 
subject  chiefs,  but  living  in  rude  huts,  and 
moving  in  and  out  among  the  soldiers,  not 
in  the  least  retired  into  the  mysterious  sol- 
itude which  in  later  days  enveloped  the 
Son  of  the  Gods.  The  first  emperors  ruled 
not  only  by  divine  right,  but  by  personal 
force  and  valor;  and  the  stories  of  the  val- 
iant deeds  of  these  early  rulers  kept  strong 
the  faith  of  the  people  in  the  divine  quali- 
ties of  the  imperial  house  during  the  hun- 
dreds of  years  when  the  Emperor  was  a 
mere  puppet  in  the  hands  of  ambitious  and 
powerful  nobles. 

Towards  the  end  of  this  legendary  period, 
a  figure  comes  into  view  that  for  heroic 
qualities  cannot  be  excelled  in  the  annals 
of  any  nation,  —  Jingu  Kogo,  the  conqueror 

The  dynasty,  for  about  twenty-five  hundred  years  since 
Jimmu  Tenno,  has  never  been  broken.  It  must,  however, 
be  said  in  connection  with  this  statement,  that  the  Japa- 
nese family  is  a  much  looser  organization  than  that  known 
to  our  Western  civilization,  on  account  of  the  customs  of 
concubinage  and  adoption,  and  that  descent  through  fam- 
ily lines  is  not  necessarily  actual  descent  by  blood. 


140    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

of  Corea,  who  alone,  among*  the  nine  female 
rulers  of  Japan,  has  made  an  era  in  the 
national  history.  She  seems  to  have  been 
from  the  beginning,  like  Jeanne  D'Arc,  a 
hearer  of  divine  voices ;  and  through  her 
was  conveyed  to  her  unbelieving  husband 
a  divine  command,  to  take  ship  and  sail 
westward  to  the  conquest  of  an  unknown 
land.  Her  husband  questioned  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  message,  took  the  earthly  and 
practical  view  that,  as  there  was  no  land 
to  be  seen  in  the  westward,  there  could  be 
no  land  there,  and  refused  to  organize  any 
expedition  in  fulfillment  of  the  command ; 
but  for  his  unbelief  was  sternly  told  that  he 
should  never  see  the  land,  but  that  his  wife 
should  conquer  it  for  the  son  whom  she 
should  bear  after  the  father's  death.  This 
message  from  the  gods  was  fulfilled.  The 
Emperor  died  in  battle  shortly  after,  and 
the  Empress,  after  suppressing  the  rebel- 
lion in  which  her  husband  had  been  killed, 
proceeded  to  organize  an  expedition  for  the 
conquest  of  the  unknown  land  beyond  the 
western  sea.  By  as  many  signs  as  those 
required  by  Gideon  to  assure  himself  of  his 
divine  mission,  the  Empress  tested  the  call 
that  had  come  to  her,  but  at  last,  satisfied 


COURT  LIFE.  141 

that  the  voices  were  from  Heaven,  she  gave 
her  orders  for  the  collection  of  troops  and 
the  building  of  a  navy.  I  quote  from  Griffis 
the  inspiring  words  with  which  she  ad- 
dressed her  generals  :  "  The  safety  or  de- 
struction of  our  country  depends  upon  this 
enterprise.  I  intrust  the  details  to  you. 
It  will  be  your  fault  if  they  are  not  carried 
out.  I  am  a  woman  and  young.  I  shall 
disguise  myself  as  a  man,  and  undertake 
this  gallant  expedition,  trusting  to  the 
gods  and  to  my  troops  and  captains.  We 
shall  acquire  a  wealthy  country.  The  glory 
is  yours,  if  we  succeed  ;  if  we  fail,  the  guilt 
and  disgrace  shall  be  mine."  What  won- 
der that  her  captains  responded  to  such  an 
appeal,  and  that  the  work  of  recruiting  and 
shipbuilding  began  with  a  will !  It  was  a 
long  preparation  that  was  required —  some- 
times, to  the  impatient  woman,  it  seemed  un- 
necessarily slow  —  but  by  continual  prayer 
and  offerings  she  appealed  to  the  gods  for 
aid  ;  and  at  last  all  was  ready,  and  the  brave 
array  of  ships  set  sail  for  the  unknown 
shore,  the  Empress  feeling  within  her  the 
new  inspiration  of  hope  for  her  babe  as  yet 
unborn.  Heaven  smiled  upon  them  from 
the  start.     The  clearest  of  skies,  the  most 


142    JAPANESE  GIELS  AND   WOMEN. 

favoring"  of  breezes,  the  smoothest  of  seas, 
favored  the  god-sent  expedition  ;  and  tradi- 
tion says  that  even  the  fishes  swarmed  in 
shoals  about  their  keels,  and  carried  them 
on  to  their  desired  haven.  The  fleet  ran 
safely  across  to  southern  Corea,  but  instead 
of  finding  battles  aud  struggles  awaiting 
them,  the  king  of  the  country  met  them  on 
the  beach  to  receive  and  tender  allegiance  to 
the  invaders,  whose  unexpected  appearance 
from  the  unexplored  East  had  led  the  na- 
tives to  believe  that  their  gods  had  for- 
saken them.  The  expedition  returned  laden 
with  vast  wealth,  not  the  spoil  of  battle, 
but  the  peaceful  tribute  of  a  bloodless  vic- 
tory; and  from  that  time  forward  Japan, 
through  Corea,  and  later  by  direct  contact 
with  China  itself,  began  to  receive  and  as- 
similate the  civilization,  arts,  and  religions 
of  China.  Thus  through  a  woman  Japan 
received  the  start  along  the  line  of  prog- 
ress which  made  her  what  she  is  to-day, 
for  the  sequel  of  Jingu  Kogo's  Corean  ex- 
pedition was  the  introduction  of  almost 
everything  which  we  regard  as  peculiar 
to  civilized  countries.  With  characteristic 
belittling  of  the  woman  and  exalting  of 
the  man,  the  whole  martial  career  of  the 


COUET  LIFE.  143 

Empress  is  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  her 
son  as  yet  unborn,  —  a  son  who  by  his  valor 
and  prowess  has  secured  for  his  deified 
spirit  the  position  of  God  of  War  in  the 
Japanese  pantheon.  We  should  say  that 
pre-natal  influences  and  heredity  produced 
the  heroic  son ;  the  Japanese  reason  from 
the  other  end,  and  show  that  all  the  noble 
qualities  of  the  mother  were  produced  by 
the  influence  of  the  unborn  babe. 

With  the  introduction  of  literature,  art, 
and  Buddhism,  a  change  took  place  in 
the  relations  of  the  court  to  the  people. 
About  the  Emperor's  throne  there  gathered 
not  only  soldiers  and  governors,  but  the 
learned,  the  accomplished,  the  witty,  the 
artistic,  who  found  in  the  Emperor  and  the 
court  nobles  munificent  patrons  by  whom 
they  were  supported,  and  before  whom  they 
laid  whatever  pearls  they  were  able  to  pro- 
duce. The  new  culture  sought  not  the  clash 
of  arms  and  the  shout  of  soldiers,  but  the 
quiet  and  refinement  of  palaces  and  gardens 
far  removed  from  the  noise  and  clamor  of 
the  world.  And  while  emperors  sought  to 
encourage  the  new  learning  and  civiliza- 
tion, and  to  soften  the  warlike  qualities  of 
the  people  about  them,  there  was  a  frontier 


144    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

along1  which  the  savages  still  made  raids 
into  the  territory  which  the  Japanese  had 
wrested  from  them,  and  which  it  required 
a  strong  arm  and  a  quick  hand  to  guard 
for  the  defense  of  the  people.  But  the 
Emperor  gradually  gave  up  the  personal 
leadership  in  war,  and  passed  the  duty  of 
defending  the  nation  into  the  hands  of  one 
or  another  of  the  great  nohle  families.  The 
nobles  were  not  by  any  means  slow  to  see 
the  advantage  to  be  gained  for  themselves 
by  the  possession  of  the  military  power  in 
an  age  when  might  made  right,  even  more 
than  it  does  to-day,  and  when  force,  used 
judiciously  and  with  proper  deference  to 
the  prejudices  of  the  people,  could  be  made 
to  give  to  its  possessor  power  even  over 
the  Emperor  himself.  And  so  gradually, 
in  the  pursuit  of  the  new  culture  and  the 
new  religion,  the  emperors  withdrew  them- 
selves more  and  more  into  seclusion,  and 
the  court  became  a  little  world  in  itself,  — 
a  centre  of  culture  and  refinement  into 
which  few  excitements  of  war  or  politics 
ever  came.  While  the  great  nobles  wran- 
gled for  the  possession  of  the  power, 
schemed  and  fought  and  turned  the  nation 
upside  down  \  while  the  heroes  of  the  coun- 


COUBT  LIFE.  145 

try  rose,  lived,  fought,  and  died,  —  the  Em- 
peror, amid  his  ladies  and  his  courtiers,  his 
priests  and  his  literary  men,  spent  his  life 
in  a  world  of  his  own ;  thinking  more  of 
this  pair  of  bright  eyes,  that  new  and 
charming  poem,  the  other  witty  saying 
of  those  about  him,  than  of  the  king- 
dom that  he  ruled  by  divine  right ;  and 
retiring,  after  ten  years  or  so  of  puppet 
kinghood,  from  the  seclusion  of  his  court 
to  the  deeper  seclusion  of  some  Buddhist 
monastery. 

Within  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  court, 
much  time  was  given  to  such  games  and 
pastimes  as  were  not  too  rude  or  noisy 
for  the  refinement  that  the  new  culture 
brought  with  it.  Polo,  football,  hunting 
with  falcons,  archery,  etc.,  were  exercises 
not  unworthy  of  even  the  most  refined  of 
gentlemen,  and  certain  noble  families  were 
trained  hereditarily  in  the  execution  of  cer- 
tain stately,  antique  dances,  many  of  them 
of  Chinese  or  Corean  origin.  The  ladies, 
in  trailing  garments  and  with  flowing  hair, 
reaching  often  below  the  knees,  played  a 
not  inconspicuous  part,  not  only  because  of 
their  beauty  and  grace,  but  for  their  quick- 
ness of  wit,  their  learning  in  the  classics, 


146    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

their  skill  in  repartee,  and  their  quaint 
fancies,  which  they  embodied  in  poetic 
form.1 

Much  attention  was  given  to  that  har- 
mony of  art  with  nature  that  the  Japanese 
taste  makes  the  sine  qua  non  of  all  true 
artistic  effort.  The  gorgeously  embroid- 
ered gowns  must  change  with  the  chan- 
ging season,  so  that  the  cherry  succeeds 
the  plum,  the  wistaria  the  cherry,  and  so  on 
through  the  whole  calendar  of  flowers,  upon 
the  silken  robes  of  the  court,  as  regularly 
as  in  the  garden  that  graces  the  palace 
grounds.  And  so  with  the  confectionery, 
which  in  Japan  is  made  in  dainty  imita- 
tion of  flowers  and  fruits.  The  chrvsau- 
themuin  blooms  in  sugar  no  earlier  than 

1  In  ancient  times,  "before  the  long  civil  wars  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  much  attention  was  given  by  both  men  and 
women  to  poetry,  and  many  of  the  classics  of  Japanese 
literature  are  the  works  of  women.  Among  these  dis- 
tinguished writers  can  be  mentioned  Murasaki  Shikibu, 
Seisho  Nagon,  and  Is^no  Taiyu,  all  court  ladies  in  the 
time  of  the  Emperor  Ichijo  (about  1000  A.  d.).  The  court 
at  that  time  was  the  centre  of  learning,  and  much  encour- 
agement was  given  by  the  Emperor  to  literary  pursuits, 
the  cultivation  of  poetry,  and  music.  The  Emperor  gath- 
ered around  him  talented  men  and  women,  but  the  great 
works  that  remain  are,  strange  to  say,  mostly  those  of 
women. 


COURT  LIFE.  147 

on  its  own  stalk  ;  the  little  golden  orange, 
with  its  dark  green  leaves,  is  on  the  confec- 
tioner's list  in  winter,  when  the  real  orange 
is  yellow  on  its  tree.  The  very  decorations 
of  the  palace  must  be  changed  with  the 
changing  of  the  months ;  and  kakemono  and 
vase  are  alternately  stored  in  the  kura  and 
brought  out  to  decorate  the  room,  accord- 
ing as  their  designs  seem  in  harmony  with 
the  mood  of  Nature.  This  effort  to  har- 
monize Nature  and  Art  is  seen  to-day,  not 
only  in  the  splendid  furnishings  of  the 
court,  but  all  through  the  decorative  art 
of  Japan.  In  every  house  the  decorations 
are  changed  to  suit  the  changing  seasons. 
Through  the  years  when  Japan  was 
adopting  the  civilization  of  China,  a  dan- 
ger threatened  the  nation,  —  the  same 
danger  that  threatens  it  to-day  :  it  was  the 
danger  lest  the  adoption  of  so  much  that 
was  foreign  should  result  in  a  servile  copy- 
ing of  all  that  was  not  Japanese,  and  lest 
the  introduction  of  literature,  art,  and  nu- 
merous hitherto  unknown  luxuries  should 
take  from  the  people  their  independence, 
patriotism,  and  manliness.  But  this  result 
was  happily  avoided ;  and  at  a  time  when 
the  language  was  in  danger  of  being  swept 


148    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

almost  out  of  existence  by  the  introduction 
of  Chinese  learning  through  Chinese  let- 
ters, the  women  of  Japan,  not  only  in  their 
homes  and  conversation,  but  in  the  poetry 
and  lighter  literature  of  the  country,  pre- 
served a  strain  of  pure  and  graceful  Jap- 
anese, and  produced  some  of  the  standard 
works  of  a  distinctly  national  literature. 
Favor  at  court  to-day,  as  in  the  olden 
times,  is  the  reward,  not  of  mere  rank, 
beauty,  and  grace  of  person,  but  must  be 
obtained  through  the  same  intellectual  en- 
dowments, polished  by  years  of  education, 
that  made  so  many  women  famous  in  the 
mediaeval  history  of  Japan.  Many  court 
ladies  have  read  much  of  their  national 
literature,  so  that  they  are  able  to  appre- 
ciate the  bonmots  which  contain  allusions 
in  many  cases  to  old  poems,  or  plays  on 
words;  and  are  able  to  write  and  present 
to  others,  at  fitting  times,  those  graceful 
but  untranslatable  turns  of  phrase  which 
form  the  bulk  of  Japanese  poetry.1     Even 

1  The  court  ladies  in  immediate  contact  with  the  Em- 
peror and  Empress  are  selected  from  the  daughters  of 
the  nobles.  Only  in  the  present  reign  have  a  few  samu- 
rai women  risen  to  high  positions  at  court  on  account  of 
special  talents. 


COURT  LIFE.  149 

in  this  busy  era  of  Meiji,1  the  Emperor  and 
his  court  keep  up  the  old-time  customs, 
and  strive  to  promote  a  love  of  the  beauti- 
ful poetry  of  Japan.  At  each  New  Year 
some  subject  appropriate  to  the  time  is 
chosen  and  publicly  announced.  Poems 
may  be  written  upon  this  subject  by  any 
one  in  the  whole  realm,  and  may  be  sent 
to  the  palace  before  a  certain  date  fixed  as 
the  time  for  closing  the  list  of  competitors. 
All  the  poems  thus  sent  are  examined  by 
competent  judges,  who  select  the  best  five 
and  send  them  to  the  Emperor,  an  honor 
more  desired  by  the  writers  than  the  most 
favorable  of  reviews  or  the  largest  of  emol- 
uments are  desired  by  American  poets. 
Many  of  the  other  poems  are  published  iu 
the  newspapers..  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  many  of  the  prominent  men  and  wo- 
men of  the  country  are  known  as  com- 
petitors, and  that  mauy  of  the  court  ladies 
join  in  the  contest. 

There  are  also,  at  the  palace,  frequent 
meetings  of  the  poets  and  lovers  of  poetry 

1  Mtiji  (Enlightened  Rule)  is  the  name  of  the  era  that 
heg-an  with  the  present  Emperor's  accession  to  the  throne. 
The  year  A.  d.  18D0  is  the  twenty-third  year  o£  M^iji,  and 
would  he  so  designated  in  all  Japanese  dates. 


150    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

connected  with  the  court.  At  these  meet- 
ings poems  are  composed  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  as 
well  as  for  the  amusement  of  the  poets 
themselves. 

In  the  school  recently  established  for  the 
daughters  of  the  nobles,  under  the  charge 
of  the  imperial  household,  much  attention 
is  given  to  the  work  of  thoroughly  ground- 
ing the  scholars  in  the  Japanese  language 
and  literature,  and  also  to  making  them 
skillful  in  the  art  of  composing  poetry.  At 
the  head  of  the  school,  in  the  highest  posi- 
tion held  by  any  woman  in  the  employ  of 
the  government,  is  a  former  court  lady, 
who  is  second  to  none  in  the  kingdom,  not 
only  in  her  knowledge  of  all  that  belongs 
to  court  etiquette,  but  in  her  study  of  the 
history  and  literature  of  her  own  people, 
and  in  her  skill  in  the  composition  of  these 
dainty  poems.  A  year  or  two  ago,  when 
one  of  the  scholars  in  the  school  died  after 
a  brief  decline,  her  schoolmates,  teachers, 
and  school  friends  wrote  poems  upon  her 
death,  which  they  sent  to  the  bereaved 
parents. 

It  is  difficult  for  any  Japanese,  much 
more  so  for  a  foreigner,  to  penetrate  into 


COURT  LIFE.  151 

the  seclusion  of  the  palace  and  see  any- 
thing of  the  life  there,  except  what  is 
shown  to  the  public  in  the  occasional  en- 
tertainments given  at  court,  such  as  for- 
mal receptions  and  dinner  parties.  In 
1889,  the  new  palace,  built  on  the  site  of 
the  old  Tokugawa  Castle,  burnt  seventeen 
years  ago,  was  finally  completed ;  and  it 
was  my  privilege  to  see,  before  the  removal 
of  the  court,  not  only  the  grand  reception 
rooms,  throne-room,  and  dining-room,  but 
also  the  private  apartments  of  the  Em- 
peror and  Empress.  The  palace  is  built  in 
Japanese  style,  surrounded  by  the  old  cas- 
tle moats,  but  there  are  many  foreign  ad- 
ditions to  the  palace  and  grounds.  It  is 
heated  and  lighted  in  foreign  style,  and 
the  larger  rooms  are  all  furnished  after 
the  magnificent  manner  of  European  pal- 
aces; while  the  lacquer  work,  carvings, 
and  gorgeous  paneled  ceilings  remind  one 
of  the  finest  of  Japanese  temples.  The 
private  apartments  of  the  Emperor  and 
Empress  are,  on  the  other  hand,  most 
simple,  and  in  thorough  Japanese  style ; 
and  though  the  woodwork  and  polished 
floors  of  the  corridors  are  very  beautiful, 
the  paintings  and  lacquer  work  most  ex- 


152    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

quisite,  there  is  little  in  this  simplicity 
to  denote-  the  abode  of  royalty.  It  seems 
that  their  majesties,  though  outwardly  con- 
forming' to  many  European  customs,  and 
to  the  European  manner  of  dress,  prefer 
to  live  in  Japanese  ways,  on  matted,  not 
carpeted  floors,  reposing  on  them  rather 
than  on  chairs  and  beds. 

Their  apartments  are  not  large ;  each 
suite  consisting  of  three  rooms  opening 
out  of  each  other,  the  Empress's  rooms 
being  slightly  smaller  than  the  Emper- 
or's, and  those  of  the  young  Prince  Haru, 
the  heir  apparent,  again  a  little  smaller. 
The  young  prince  has  a  residence  of  his 
own,  and  it  is  only  on  his  visits  that  he 
occupies  his  apartments  in  his  father's 
palace.  There  are  also  rooms  for  the  Em- 
press dowrager  to  occupy  on  her  occasional 
visits.  All  of  these  apartments  are  quite 
close  together  in  one  part  of  the  palace, 
and  are  connected  by  halls ;  but  the  pri- 
vate rooms  of  the  court  ladies  are  in  an 
entirely  separate  place,  quite  removed,  and 
only  connected  with  the  main  building 
by  a  long,  narrow  passageway,  running 
through  the  garden.  There,  in  the  rooms 
assigned  to  them,  each  one  has  her  own 


COURT  LIFE.  153 

private  establishment,  where  she  stays 
when  she  is  not  on  duty  in  attendance  on 
the  Emperor  and  Empress.  Each  lady  has 
her  own  servants,  and  sometimes  a  younger 
sister  or  a  dependent  may  be  living  there 
with  her,  though  they  are  entirely  sepa- 
rate from  the  court  and  the  life  there,  and 
must  never  be  seen  in  any  of  the  other 
parts  of  the  building.  In  these  rooms, 
which  are  like  little  homes  in  themselves, 
cooking  and  housekeeping  are  done,  en- 
tirely independent  of  the  other  parts  of 
the  great  palace ;  and  the  tradesmen  find 
their  way  through  some  back  gate  to  these 
little  establishments,  supplying  them  with 
all  the  necessaries  of  life,  as  well  as  the 
luxuries. 

A  court  lady  is  a  personage  of  distinc- 
tion, and  lives  in  comparative  ease  and 
luxury,  with  plenty  of  servants  to  do  all 
the  necessary  work.  Besides  her  salary, 
which  of  course  varies  with  the  rank  and 
the  duties  performed,  but  is  always  liberal 
enough  to  cover  the  necessary  expenses  of 
dress,  the  court  lady  receives  many  presents 
from  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  which 
make  her  position  one  of  much  luxury. 

The  etiquette  of  the  imperial  household 


154    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN, 

is  very  complicated  and  very  strict,  though 
many  of  the  formalities  of  the  olden  times 
have  been  given  up.  The  court  ladies  are 
models  of  conservatism.  In  order  to  be 
trained  for  the  life  there  and  its  duties, 
they  usually  enter  the  court  while  mere 
children  of  ten  or  eleven,  and  serve  ap- 
prenticeship to  the  older  members.  In 
the  rigid  seclusion  of  the  palace  they  are 
strictly,  almost  severely,  brought  up,  and 
trained  in  all  the  details  of  court  etiquette. 
Cut  off  from  all  outside  influences  "while 
young,  the  little  court  maidens  are  taught 
to  go  through  an  endless  round  of  for- 
malities which  they  are  made  to  think 
indispensable.  These  details  of  etiquette 
extend  not  only  to  all  that  concerns  the 
imperial  household,  but  to  curious  cus- 
toms among  themselves,  and  in  regard  to 
their  own  habits.  Many  of  these  ideas 
have  come  down  from  one  generation  to 
another,  within  the  narrow  limits  of  the 
court,  so  that  the  life  there  is  a  curious 
world  in  itself,  and  very  unlike  that  in 
ordinary  Japanese  homes. 

But  among  all  the  ladies  of  Japan  to- 
day,—  charming,  intellectual,  refined,  and 
lovely  as  many  of  them  are,  —  there  is  no 


COURT  LIFE.  155 

one  nobler,  more  accomplished,  more  beau- 
tiful in  life  and  character,  than  the  Em- 
press  herself.  The  Emperor  of  Japan, 
though  he  may  have  many  concubines,  may 
have  but  one  wife,  and  she  must  be  chosen 
out  of  one  of  the  five  highest  noble  fami- 
lies.1 Haru  Ko,  of  the  noble  family  of 
Ichijo,  became  Empress  in  the  year  1868, 
one  year  after  her  husband,  then  a  boy  of 
seventeen,  had  ascended  the  throne,  and 
the  very  year  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Sho- 
gunate,2  and  the  restoration  of  the  Em- 

1  The  Empresses  of  Japan  are  not  chosen  from  any 
branch  of  the  imperial  family,  but  from  among  the 
daughters  of  the  five  of  the  great  kuge,  or  court  nobles, 
who  are  next  in  rank  to  the  imperial  princes.  The 
choice  usually  rests  with  the  Emperor  or  his  advisers,  and 
would  be  naturally  given  to  the  most  worthy,  whether  in 
beauty  or  accomplishments.  No  doubt  one  reason  why 
the  Empress  is  regarded  as  far  below  the  Emperor  is, 
that  she  is  not  of  royal  blood,  but  one  of  the  subjects  of 
the  Empire.  In  the  old  times,  the  daughters  of  the  Em- 
peror could  never  marry,  as  all  men  were  far  beneath 
them  in  rank.  These  usually  devoted  their  lives  to  re- 
ligion, and  as  Shinto  priestesses  or  Buddhist  nuns  dwelt 
in  the  retirement  of  temple  courts  or  the  seclusion  of 
cloisters. 

2  Tokugawa  Shoguns  were  the  military  rulers  of  the 
Tokugawa  family,  who  held  the  power  in  Japan  for  a 
period  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  They  are  better 
known  to  Americans,  perhaps,  under  the  title  of  Tycoon 
(Great  Prince),  a  name  assumed,  or  rather  revived,  to  im« 


156    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

peror  to  actual  power  and  the  leading  part 
in  the  government.  Reared  amid  the  deep 
and  scholarly  seclusion  of  the  old  court  at 
Kyoto,  the  young  Empress  found  herself 
occupying  a  position  very  different  from 
that  for  which  she  had  been  educated,  —  a 
position  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of 
which  grow  more  multifarious  as  the  years 
go  by.  Instead  of  a  life  of  rigid  seclusion, 
unseeing  and  unseen,  the  Empress  has  had 
to  go  forth  into  the  world,  finding  there 
the  pleasures  as  wrell  as  the  duties  of  actual 
leadership.  With  the  removal  of  the  court 
to  Tokyo,  and  the  reappearance  of  the  Em- 
peror, in  bodily  form,  before  his  people, 
there  came  new  opportunities  for  the  Em- 
press, and  nobly  has  she  used  them.  From 
the  time  when,  in  1871,  she  gave  audience 
to  the  five  little  girls  of  the  samurai  class 
who  were  just  setting  forth  on  a  journey 
to  America,  there  to  study  and  fit  them- 
selves to  play  a  part  in  the  Japan  of  the 
future,  on  through  twenty  years  of  change 

press  the  foreigners  when  Commodore  Perry  was  nego- 
tiating in  regard  to  treaties.  The  Shog^un  held  the  daimios 
in  forced  subjection, — a  subjection  that  was  shaken  in 
1862,  and  broken  at  last  in  the  year  1868,  when,  by  the 
fall  of  the  Shogunate,  the  Emperor  was  restored  to  direct 
power  over  his  people. 


COURT  LIFE.  157 

and  progress,  the  Empress  Haru  Ko  has 
done  all  that  lay  within  her  power  to  ad- 
vance the  women  of  her  country.  Many 
stories  are  afloat  w7hich  show  the  lovable 
character  of  the  woman,  and  which  have 
given  her  an  abiding  place  in  the  affec- 
tions of  the  people. 

Some  years  ago,  when  the  castle  in 
Tokyo  was  burned,  and  the  Emperor  and 
Empress  were  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  an 
old  daimio's  house,  a  place  entirely  lacking 
in  luxuries  and  considerably  out  of  repair, 
some  one  expressed  to  her  the  grief  that 
all  her  people  felt,  that  she  should  have  to 
put  up  with  so  many  inconveniences.  Her 
response  was  a  graceful  little  poem,  in 
which  she  said  that  it  mattered  little  how 
she  was  situated,  as  long  as  she  was  sure 
of  a  home  in  the  hearts  of  her  people. 
That  home,  which  fire  can  never  consume, 
she  has  undoubtedly  made  for  herself. 

Upon  another  occasion,  when  Prince  Iwa- 
kura,  one  of  the  leaders  of  Japan  in  the 
early  days  of  the  crisis  through  which  the 
country  is  still  passing,  lay  dying'  at  his 
home,  the  Empress  sent  him  word  that 
she  was  coming  to  visit  him.  The  prince, 
afraid  that  he  could  not  do  honor  to  such 


158    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

a  guest,  sent  her  word  back  that  he  was 
very  ill,  and  unable  to  make  proper  prepa- 
ration to  entertain  an  Empress.  To  this 
the  Empress  replied  that  he  need  make  no 
preparations  for  her,  for  she  was  coming, 
not  as  an  Empress,  but  as  the  daughter  of 
Ichijo,  his  old  friend  and  colleague,  and  as 
such  he  could  receive  her.  And  then,  set- 
ting aside  imperial  state  and  etiquette,  she 
visited  the  dying  statesman,  and  bright- 
ened his  last  hours  with  the  thought  of 
how  lovely  a  woman  stood  as  an  example 
before  the  women  of  his  beloved  country. 

Many  of  the  charities  and  schools  of  new 
Japan  are  under  the  Empress's  special 
patronage ;  and  this  does  not  mean  simply 
that  she  allows  her  name  to  be  used  in 
connection  with  them,  but  it  means  that 
she  thinks  of  them,  studies  them,  asks 
questions  about  them,  and  even  practices 
little  economies  that  she  may  have  the 
more  money  to  give  to  them.  There  is  a 
charity  hospital  in  Tokyo,  having  in  connec- 
tion with  it  a  training  school  for  nurses, 
that  is  one  of  the  special  objects  of  her 
care.  Last  year  she  gave  to  it,  at  the 
end  of  the  year,  the  savings  from  her  own 
private  allowance,  and  concerning  this  act 


COUET  LIFE.  159 

an  editorial  from  the  "  Japan  Mail "  speaks 
as  follows  :  — 

"  The  life  of  the  Empress  of  Japan  is  au 
unvarying  routine  of  faithful  duty-doing 
and  earnest  charity.  The  public,  indeed, 
hears  with  a  certain  listless  indifference, 
engendered  by  habit,  that  her  Majesty  has 
visited  this  school,  or  gone  round  the  wards 
at  that  hospital.  Such  incidents  all  seem 
to  fall  naturally  into  the  routine  of  the 
imperial  day's  work.  Yet  to  the  Empress 
the  weariness  of  long  hours  spent  in  class- 
rooms or  in  laboratories,  or  by  the  beds  of 
the  sick,  must  soon  become  quite  intoler- 
able did  she  not  contrive,  out  of  the  good- 
ness of  her  heart,  to  retain  a  keen  and 
kindly  interest  in  everything  that  concerns 
the  welfare  of  her  subjects.  That  her  Ma- 
jesty does  feel  this  interest,  and  that  it 
grows  rather  than  diminishes  as  the  years 
go  by,  every  one  knows  who  has  been  pres- 
ent on  any  of  the  innumerable  occasions 
when  the  promoters  of  some  charity  or  the 
directors  of  some  educational  institution 
have  presented,  with  merciless  precision, 
all  the  petty  details  of  their  projects  or 
organizations  for  the  examination  of  the 
imperial  lady.     The  latest  evidence  of  her 


160    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

Majesty's  benevolence  is,  however,  more 
than  usually  striking*.  Since  the  founding 
of  the  Tokyo  Charity  Hospital,  where  so 
many  poor  women  and  children  are  treated, 
the  Empress  has  watched  the  institution 
closely,  has  bestowed  on  it  patronage  of  the 
most  active  and  helpful  character,  aud  has 
contributed  handsomely  to  its  funds.  Little 
by  little  the  hospital  grew,  extending  its 
sphere  of  action  and  enlarging  its  minis- 
trations, until  the  need  of  more  capacious 
premises  —  a  need  familiar  to  such  under- 
taking's —  began  to  be  strongly  felt.  The 
Empress,  knowing  this,  cast  about  for  some 
means  of  assisting  this  project.  To  prac- 
tice strict  economy  in  her  own  personal 
expenses,  and  to  devote  whatever  money 
might  thus  be  saved  from  her  yearly  in- 
come to  the  aid  of  the  hospital,  appears 
to  have  suggested  itself  to  her  Majesty 
as  the  most  feasible  method  of  procedure. 
The  result  is,  that  a  sum  of  8,446  yen,  90 
sen,  and  8  rin  has  just  been  handed  over 
to  Dr.  Takagi,  the  chief  promoter  and 
mainstay  of  the  hospital,  by  Viscount 
Kagawa,  one  of  her  Majesty's  chamber- 
lains. There  is  something  picturesque 
about  these  sen  and  rin.     They  represent 


COURT  LIFE.  161 

an  account  minutely  and  faithfully  kept 
between  her  Majesty's  unavoidable  expenses 
and  the  benevolent  impulse  that  constantly 
urged  her  to  curtail  them.  Such  gracious 
acts  of  sterling  effort  command  admiration 
and  love." 

Not.  very  long  ago,  on  one  of  her  visits  to 
the  hospital,  the  Empress  visited  the  chil- 
dren's ward,  and  took  with  her  toys,  which 
she  gave  with  her  own  hand  to  each  child 
there.  When  we  consider  that  this  hos- 
pital is  free  to  the  poorest  and  lowest  per- 
son in  Tokyo,  and  that  twenty  years  ago  the 
persons  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress  were 
so  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  that  no 
one  but  the  highest  nobles  and  the  near 
officials  of  the  court  could  come  into  their 
presence,  —  that  even  these  high  nobles 
were  received  at  court  by  the  Emperor  at 
a  distance  of  many  feet,  and  his  face  even 
then  could  not  be  seen,  —  when  we  think  of 
all  this,  we  can  begin  to  appreciate  what 
the  Empress  Haru  Ko  has  done  in  bridg- 
ing the  distance  between  herself  and  her 
people  so  that  the  poorest  child  of  a  beg- 
gar may  receive  a  gift  from  her  hand.  In 
the  country  places  to A this  day,  there  are 
peasants  who  yet  believe  that  no  o:;o  can 


162    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

look   on  the  sacred  face  of  the  Emperor 
and  live. 

The  school  for  the  daughters  of  the 
nobles,  to  which  I  have  before  referred,  is 
an  institution  whose  welfare  the  Empress 
has  very  closely  at  heart,  for  she  sees  the 
need  of  rightly  combining  the  new  and  the 
old  in  the  education  of  the  young  girls 
who  will  so  soon  be  filling  places  in  the 
court.  At  the  opening  of  the  school  the 
Empress  was  present,  and  herself  made  a 
speech  to  the  scholars ;  and  her  visits,  at 
intervals  of  one  or  two  months,  show  her 
continued  interest  in  the  work  that  she 
has  begun.  Upon  all  state  occasions,  the 
scholars,  standing  with  bowed  heads  as  if 
in  prayer,  sing  a  little  song  written  for 
them  by  the  Empress  herself;  and  at  the 
graduating  exercises,  the  speeches  and  ad- 
dresses are  listened  to  by  her  with  the  pro- 
foundest  interest.  The  best  specimens  of 
poetry,  painting,  and  composition  done  by 
the  scholars  are  sent  to  the  palace  for  her 
inspection,  and  some  of  these  are  kept  by 
her  in  her  own  private  rooms.  When  she 
visits  the  class-rooms,  she  does  not  simply 
pass  in  and  pass  out  again,  as  if  doing  a 
formal  duty,  but  sits  for  half  an  hour  or  so 


COURT  LIFE.  163 

listening  intently,  and  watching  the  faces 
of  the  scholars  as  they  recite.  In  sewing 
and  cooking  classes  (for  the  daughters  of 
the  nobles  are  taught  to  sew  and  cook), 
she  sometimes  speaks  to  the  scholars,  ask- 
ing them  questions.  Upon  one  occasion 
she  observed  a  young  princess,  a  new-comer 
in  the  school,  working  somewhat  awk- 
wardly with  needle  and  thimble.  "The 
first  time,  Princess,  is  it  not?"  said  the 
Empress,  smiling,  and  the  embarrassed 
Princess  was  obliged  to  confess  that  this 
was  her  first  experience  with  those  domes- 
tic implements. 

Sometimes  in  her  leisure  hours  —  and 
they  are  rare  in  her  busy  life  —  the  Em- 
press amuses  herself  by  receiving  the  lit- 
tle daughters  of  some  imperial  prince  or 
nobleman,  or  even  the  children  of  some  of 
the  high  officials.  In  the  kindness  of  her 
heart,  she  takes  great  pleasure  in  seeing 
and  talking  to  these  little  ones,  some  of 
whom  are  intensely  awed  by  being  in  the 
presence  of  the  Empress,  while  others,  in 
their  innocence,  ignorant  of  all  etiquette, 
prattle  away  unrestrainedly,  to  the  great 
entertainment  of  the  court  ladies  as  well 
as  of  the  Empress  herself.     These  visits 


164     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

always  end  with  some  choice  toy  or  gift, 
which  the  child  takes  home  and  keeps 
among  her  most  valued  treasures  in  re- 
membrance of  her  imperial  hostess.  In 
this  way  the  Empress  relieves  the  loneli- 
ness of  the  great  palace,  where  the  sound 
of  childish  voices  is  seldom  heard,  for  the 
Emperor's  children  are  brought  up  in  sep- 
arate establishments,  and  only  pay  occa- 
sional visits  to  the  palace,  until  they  have 
passed  early  childhood.1 

The  present  life  of  the  Empress  is  not 
very  different  from  that  of  European  roy- 
alty. Her  carriage  and  escort  are  fre- 
quently met  with  in  the  streets  of  Tokyo 
as  she  goes  or  returns  on  one  of  her  nu- 
merous visits  of  ceremony  or  beneficence. 
Policemen  keep  back  the  crowds  of  peo- 
ple wTho  always  gather  to  see  the  imperial 
carriage,  and  stand  respectfully,  but  with- 
out demonstration,  while  the  horsemen 
carrying    the    imperial   insignia,    followed 

1  The  Emperor's  children  are  placed,  from  birth,  in 
the  care  of  some  noble  or  high  official,  who  becomes  the 
guardian  of  the  child.  Certain  persons  are  appointed  as 
attendants,  and  the  child  with  its  retinue  lives  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  guardian,  who  is  supposed  to  exercise 
his  judgment  and  experience  in  the  physical  and  mental 
training  of  the  child. 


COUBT  LIFE.  165 

closely  by  the  carriages  of  the  Empress 
and  her  attendants,  pass  by.  The  official 
Gazette  announces  almost  daily  visits  by 
the  Emperor,  Empress,  or  other  members 
of  the  imperial  family,  to  different  places  of 
interest,  —  sometimes  to  various  palaces 
in  different  parts  of  Tokyo,  at  other  times 
to  schools,  charitable  institutions  or  exhi- 
bitions, as  well  as  occasional  visits  to  the 
homes  of  high  officials  or  nobles,  for  which 
great  preparations  are  made  by  those  who 
have  the  honor  of  entertaining  their  Ma- 
jesties. 

Among  the  amusements  within  the  pal- 
ace grounds,  one  lately  introduced,  and  at 
present  in  high  favor,  is  that  of  horseback- 
riding,  an  exercise  hitherto  unknown  to 
the  ladies  of  Japan.  The  Empress  and  her 
ladies  are  said  to  be  very  fond  of  this  ac- 
tive exercise,  —  an  amusement  forming  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  quiet  of  former 
years. 

The  grounds  about  the  palaces  in  Tokyo 
are  most  beautifully  laid  out  and  cultivated, 
but  not  in  that  artificial  manner,  with  reg- 
ular flower  beds  and  trees  at  certain  equal 
distances,  which  is  seen  so  often  in  the 
highly  cultivated  grounds  of  the  rich  in 


166     JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

this  country.  The  landscape  gardening  of 
Japan  keeps  unchanged  the  wildness  and 
beauty  of  nature,  and  imitates  it  closely. 
The  famous  flowers,  however,  are,  in  the 
imperial  gardens,  changed  by  art  and  cul- 
tivated to  their  highest  perfection,  bloom- 
ing each  season  for  the  enjoyment  of  the 
members  of  the  court.  Especially  is  atten- 
tion given  to  the  cultivation  of  the  impe- 
rial flower  of  Japan,  the  chrysanthemum  ; 
and  some  day  in  November,  when  this 
flower  is  in  its  perfection,  the  gates  of  the 
Akasaka  palace  are  thrown  open  to  invited 
guests,  who  are  received  in  person  by  the 
Emperor  and  Empress.  Here  the  rarest 
species  of  this  favorite  flower,  and  the  odd- 
est colors  and  shapes,  the  results  of  much 
care  and  cultivation,  are  exhibited  in  spa- 
cious beds,  shaded  by  temporary  roofs  of 
bamboo  twigs  and  decorated  with  the  im- 
perial flags.  This  is  the  great  chrysanthe- 
mum party  of  the  Emperor,  and  another, 
of  similar  character  is  given  in  the  spring 
under  the  flower-laden  boughs  of  the  cherry 
trees. 

In  these  various  ways  the  Empress  shows 
herself  to  her  people,  —  a  gracious  and 
lovely  figure,  though  distant,  as  she  needs 


COURT  LIFE.  167 

must  be,  from  common,  every -day  life. 
Only  by  glimpses  do  the  people  know  her, 
but  those  glimpses  reveal  enough  to  ex- 
cite the  warmest  admiration,  the  most  ten- 
der love.  Childless  herself,  destined  to  see 
a  child  not  her  own,  although  her  hus- 
band's, heir  to  the  throne,  the  Empress 
devotes  her  lonely  and  not  too  happy  life 
to  the  actual,  personal  study  of  the  wants 
of  daughters  of  her  people,  and  side  by 
side  with  Jingu,1  the  majestic  but  shadowy 
Empress  of  the  past,  should  be  enshrined 
in  the  hearts  of  the  women  of  Japan  the 
memory  of  Haru  Ko,  the  leader  of  her 
countrywomen  into  that  freer  and  happier 
life  that  is  opening  to  them. 

1  Jingu  Kogo,  like  many  of  the  heroic,  half  mythical 
figures  of  other  nations,  has  suffered  somewhat  under  the 
assaults  of  the  modern  historical  criticism.  Many  of  the 
best  Japanese  historians  deny  that  she  conquered  Corea  ; 
some  go  so  far  as  to  doubt  whether  she  had  right  to  the 
title  of  Empress  ;  all  are  sure  that  much  of  romance  has 
gathered  about  the  figure  of  this  brave  woman ;  but  to 
the  mass  of  the  Japanese  to-day,  she  is  still  an  actual  his- 
toric reality,  and  she  represents  to  them  in  feminine  form 
the  Spirit  of  Japan.  Whether  she  conquered  Corea  or 
no,  she  remains  the  prominent  female  figure  upon  the 
border  line  where  the  old  barbaric  life  merges  into  the 
newer  civilization,  just  as  the  present  Empress,  Hani  Ko, 
stands  upon  the  border  line  between  the  Eastern  and  the 
Western  modes  of  thought  and  life. 


168     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

Each  marks  the  beginning'  of  a  new  era, 
—  the  first,  of  the  era  of  civilization  and 
morality  founded  upon  the  teachings  of 
Buddha  and  Confucius  ;  the  second,  of  the 
civilization  and  morality  that  have  sprung 
from  the  teachings  of  Christ.  Buddhism 
and  Confucianism  were  elevating  and  civ- 
ilizing, but  failed  to  place  the  women  of 
Japan  upon  even  as  high  a  plane  as  they 
had  occupied  in  the  old  barbaric  times.  To 
Christianity  they  must  look  for  the  security 
and  happiness  which  it  has  never  failed  to 
give  to  the  wives  and  mothers  of  all  Chris- 
tian nations. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND  YASHIKI.1 

The  seclusion  of  the  Emperors  and  the 
gathering  of  the  reins  of  government  into 
the  hands  of  Shoguns  was  a  gradual  pro- 
cess, beginning  not  long  after  the  intro- 
duction of  Chinese  civilization,  and  con- 
tinuing to  grow  until  Iyeyasu,  the  founder 
of  the  Tokugawa  dynasty,  through  his  code 
of  laws,  took  from  the  Emperor  the  last 
vestige  of  real  power,  and  perfected  the 
feudal  system  which  maintained  the  sway 

1  Yashiki,  or  spread-out  house,  was  the  name  given  to 
the  palace  and  grounds  of  a  daimio's  city  residence,  and 
also  to  the  harraeks  occupied  by  his  retainers,  both  in 
city  and  country.  In  the  city  the  barracks  of  the  samurai 
were  built  as  a  hollow  square,  in  the  centre  of  which  stood 
the  palace  and  grounds  of  their  lord,  and  this  whole  place 
was  the  daimio's  yashiki.  In  the  castle  towns  the  daimio's 
palace  and  gardens  stood  within  the  castle  inclosure,  sur- 
rounded by  a  moat,  while  the  yashikis  of  the  samurai  were 
placed  without  the  moat.  They  in  turn  were  separated 
from  the  business  part  of  the  village  sometimes  by  a 
second  or  third  moat.  By  life  in  castle  and  yashiki  we 
mean  the  life  of  the  daimio,  whether  in  city  or  country. 


170     JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

of  his  house  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
of  peace. 

The  Emperor's  court,  with  its  literary 
and  aesthetic  quiet,  its  simplicity  of  life  and 
complexity  of  etiquette,  was  the  centre  of 
the  culture  and  art  of  Japan,  but  never 
the  centre  of  luxury.  After  the  growth  of 
the  Tokugawa  power  had  secured  for  that 
house  and  its  retainers  great  hereditary 
possessions,  the  Emperor's  court  was  a 
mere  shadow  in  the  presence  of  the  mag- 
nificence in  which  the  Tokugawas  and  the 
daimios  chose  to  live.  The  wealth  of  the 
country  was  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
held  the  real  power,  and  the  Emperor 
was  dependent  for  his  support  upon  his 
great  vassal,  who  held  the  land,  collected 
the  taxes,  made  the  laws,  and  gave  to  his 
master  whatever  seemed  necessary  for  his 
maintenance  in  the  simple  style  of  the  old 
days,  keeping  for  himself  and  for  his  re- 
tainers enough  to  make  Yedo,  the  Toku- 
gawa capital,  the  centre  of  a  luxury  far 
surpassing  anything  ever  seen  at  the  Em- 
peror's own  court.  While  the  kug&,  the 
old  imperial  nobility,  formerly  the  govern- 
ors of  the  provinces  under  the  Emperors, 
lived  in  respectable  but  often  extreme  pov« 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKL      171 

erty  at  Kyoto,  the  landed  nobility,  or  dai- 
mios,  brought,  after  many  struggles,  under 
the  sway  of  the  Tokugawas,  built  for  them- 
selves palaces  and  pleasure  gardens  in  the 
moated  city  of  Yedo.  At  Yedo  with  its  cas- 
tle, its  gardens,  its  yashikis,  and  its  fortifi- 
cations, was  established  a  new  court,  more 
luxurious,  but  less  artistic  and  cultivated, 
than  the  old  court  of  Kyoto.  In  the  va- 
rious provinces,  too,  at  every  castle  town,  a 
little  court  arose  about  the  castle,  and  the 
daimio  became  not  only  the  feudal  chief, 
but  the  patron  of  literature  and  art  among 
his  people,  as  the  years  went  by  filling  his 
Tmra  with  choice  works  of  art,  in  lacquer, 
bronze,  silver,  and  pottery,  to  be  brought 
out  on  special  occasions.  These  nobles, 
under  a  law  of  Iyemitsii,  the  third  of  the 
Tokugawa  line,  were  compelled  to  spend 
half  of  each  year  at  the  city  of  the  Sho- 
guns  ;  and  each  had  his  yashiki,  or  large 
house  and  garden,  in  the  city.  At  this 
house,  his  family  must  reside  permanently, 
as  hostages  for  the  loyalty  of  their  lord 
while  away.  The  annual  journeys  to  and 
from  Yedo  were  events  not  only  in  the  lives 
of  the  daimios  and  their  trains  of  retainers, 
but  in  the  lives  of  the  country  people  who 


172    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

lived  along  the  roads  by  which  they  must 
travel.  The  time  and  style  of  each  journey 
for  each  daimio  were  rigidly  prescribed  in 
the  laws  of  Iyemitsu,  as  well  as  the  be- 
havior of  the  country  people  who  might 
meet  the  procession  moving  towards  Yedo, 
or  returning  therefrom.  When  some  noble, 
or  any  member  of  his  family,  was  to  pass 
through  a  certain  section  of  the  country, 
great  preparations  were  made  beforehand. 
Not  only  was  traffic  stopped  along  the 
route,  but  every  door  and  window  had  to 
be  closed.  By  no  means  was  any  one  to 
show  himself,  or  to  look  in  any  way  upon 
the  passing  procession.  To  do  so  was  to 
commit  a  profane  deed,  punishable  by  a 
fine.  Among  other  things,  no  cooking  was 
allowed  on  that  day.  All  the  food  must  be 
prepared  the  day  before,  as  the  air  was 
supposed  to  become  polluted  by  the  smoke 
from  the  fires.  Thus  through  crowded 
cities,  full  and  busy  with  life,  the  daimio 
in  his  curtained  palanquin,  with  numerous 
retinue,  would  pass  by ;  but  wherever  he 
approached,  the  place  would  be  as  deserted 
and  silent  as  if  plague-stricken.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  add  that  these  jour- 
neys, attended  with  so  much  ceremony  and 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKI.      173 

inconvenience  to  the  people,  were  not  as 
frequent  as  the  trips  now  taken,  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice,  from  one  city  to  another, 
by  these  very  same  men. 

One  story  current  in  Tokyo  shows  the 
narrowing  effect  of  such  seclusion.  A 
noble  who  had  traveled  into  Yedo,  across 
one  of  the  large  bridges  built  over  the 
Sumida  River,  remarked  one  day  to  his 
companions  that  he  was  greatly  disap- 
pointed on  seeing  that  bridge.  "  From  the 
pictures,"  he  said,  "  which  I  have  seen,  the 
bridge  seemed  alive  with  people,  the  centre 
of  life  and  activity,  but  the  artists  must  ex- 
aggerate, for  not  a  soul  was  on  the  bridge 
when  I  passed  by." 

The  castle  of  the  Shogun  in  Yedo,  with 
its  moats  and  fortifications,  and  its  fine 
house  and  great  kara,  was  reproduced  on  a 
small  scale  in  the  castles  scattered  through 
the  country ;  and  as  in  Yedo  the  yashiJcis 
of  the  daimios  stood  next  to  the  inner 
moat  of  the  castle,  that  the  retainers  might 
be  ready  to  defend  their  lord  at  his  earliest 
call,  so  in  the  provinces  the  yashiJcis  of  the 
samurai  occupied  a  similar  position  about 
the  claim io's  castle. 

It  is  curious  to  see  that,  as  the  Shogun 


174     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN. 

took  away  the  military  and  temporal  power 
of  the  Emperor,  making  of  him  only  a 
figure-head  without  real  power,  so,  to  a 
certain  degree,  the  daimio  gave  up,  little  by 
little,  the  personal  control  of  his  own  prov- 
ince, the  power  falling  into  the  hands  of 
ambitious  samurai,  who  became  the  coun- 
cilors of  their  lord.  The  samurai  were 
the  learned  class  and  the  military  class; 
they  were  and  are  the  life  of  Japan ;  and 
it  is  no  wonder  that  the  nobles,  protected 
and  shielded  from  the  world,  and  growing 
up  without  much  education,  should  have 
changed  in  the  course  of  centuries  from 
strong,  brave  warriors  into  the  delicate,  ef- 
feminate, luxury-loving  nobles  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  Upon  the  loyalty  and  wisdom  of 
the  samurai,  often  upon  some  one  man  of 
undoubted  ability,  rested  the  greatness  of 
the  province  and  the  prosperity  of  the  mas- 
ter's house. 

The  life  of  the  ladies  in  these  daimios' 
houses  is  still  a  living  memory  to  many  of 
the  older  women  of  Japan ;  but  it  is  a  mem- 
ory only,  and  has  given  place  to  a  different 
state  of  things.  The  Emperor  occupies 
the  castle  of  the  Shogun  to-day,  and  every 
daimio's  castle  throughout  the  country  is 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND  YASHIKL      175 

ill  the  hands  of  the  imperial  government. 
The  old  pleasure  gardens  of  the  nobles  are 
turned  into  arsenals,  schools,  public  parks, 
and  other  improvements  of  the  new  era. 
But  here  and  there  one  finds  some  conserv- 
ative family  of  nobles  still  keeping  up  in 
some  measure  the  customs  of  former  times ; 
and  daimios'  houses  there  are  still  in  Tokyo, 
though  stripped  of  power  and  of  retainers, 
where  life  goes  on  in  many  ways  much  as 
it  did  in  the  old  days.  In  such  a  house  as 
this,  one  finds  ladies-in-waiting,  of  the  sa- 
murai rank,  who  serve  her  ladyship  —  the 
daimio's  wife —  in  all  personal  service.  In 
the  old  days,  the  daughters  of  the  samurai 
were  eager  for  the  training  in  etiquette, 
and  in  all  that  belongs  to  nice  housekeep- 
ing, that  might  be  obtained  by  a  few  years 
of  apprenticeship  in  a  daimio's  house,  and 
gladly  assumed  the  most  menial  positions 
for  the  sake  of  the  education  and  reputa- 
tion to  be  gained  by  such  training. 

The  wife  and  daughters  of  a  claimio  led 
the  quietest  of  lives,  rarely  passing  beyond 
the  four  great  walls  that  inclose  the  palace 
with  its  grounds.  They  saw  the  changes 
of  the  seasons  in  the  flowers  that  bloomed 
in  their  lovely  gardens,  when,  followed  by 


176     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

numerous  attendants,  they  slowly  walked 
through  the  bamboo  groves  or  under  the 
bloom-laden  boughs  of  the  plum  or  cherry 
trees,  forming  their  views  of  life,  its  pleas- 
ures, its  responsibilities,  and  its  meaning, 
within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  daimio's 
yasliiki. 

Their  mornings  were  passed  in  the 
adorning  of  their  own  persons,  and  in  the 
elaborate  dressing  of  their  luxuriant  hair; 
the  afternoons  were  spent  in  the  tea  cere- 
mony, in  writing  poetry,  or  the  execution 
of  a  sort  of  silk  mosaic  that  is  a  favorite 
variety  of  fancy  work  still  among  the  ladies 
of  Japan. 

A  story  is  told  of  one  of  the  Tokugawa 
princesses  that  illustrates  the  amusements 
of  the  Shogun's  daughters,  and  the  pains 
that  were  taken  to  gratify  their  wishes, 
however  unreasonable.  The  cherry-trees 
of  the  castle  gardens  of  Tokyo  are  noted 
for  their  beauty  when  in  bloom  during  the 
month  of  April.  It  is  said  that  once  a 
daughter  of  the  Tokugawa  house  expressed 
a  wish  to  give  a  garden  party  amid  the 
blossoming  cherry-trees  in  the  month 
of  December,  and  nothing  would  do  but 
that  her  wishes  must  be  carried  out.     Her 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND  YASHIKL      111 

retainers  accordingly  summoned  to  their 
aid  skillful  artificers,  who  from  pink  and 
white  tissue  paper  produced  myriads  of 
cherry  blossoms,  so  natural  that  they  could 
hardly  be  distinguished  from  the  real  ones. 
These  they  fastened  upon  the  trees  in  just 
such  places  as  the  real  flowers  would  have 
chosen  to  occupy,  and  the  happy  princess 
gave  her  garden  party  in  December  under 
the  pink  mist  of  cherry  blooms. 

The  children  of  a  daimio's  wife  occupied 
her  attention  but  little.  They  were  placed 
in  the  charge  of  careful  attendants,  and  the 
mother,  though  allowed  to  see  them  when 
she  wished,  was  deprived  of  the  pleasure  of 
constant  intercourse  with  them,  and  had 
none  of  the  mother's  cares  which  form  so 
large  a  part  of  life  to  an  ordinary  Japanese 
woman. 

When  we  know  that  the  average  Japa- 
nese girl  is  brought  up  strictly  by  her  own 
mother,  and  thoroughly  drilled  in  obedi- 
ence and  in  all  that  is  proper  as  regards 
etiquette  and  the  duties  of  woman,  we  can 
imagine  the  narrowness  of  the  education 
of  the  daimio's  poor  little  daughter,  sur- 
rounded, from  early  childhood,  with  nu- 
merous attendants  of  the  strictest  sort,  to 


178     JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

teach  her  all  that  is  proper  according*  to 
the  highest  and  severest  standards.  Some- 
times, by  the  whim  or  the  indulgence  of 
parents,  or  through  exceptional  circum- 
stances in  her  surroundings,  a  samurai's 
daughter  became  more  independent,  more 
self-reliant,  or  better  educated,  than  oth- 
ers of  her  rank ;  but  such  opportunities 
never  came  to  the  more  carefully  reared 
noble's  daughter. 

From  her  earliest  childhood,  she  was 
addressed  in  the  politest  and  most  formal 
way,  so  that  she  could  not  help  acquir- 
ing polite  manners  and  speech.  She  was 
taught  etiquette  above  all  things,  so  that 
no  rude  action  or  speech  would  disgrace 
her  rank;  and  that  she  should  give  due 
reverence  to  her  superiors,  courtesy  to 
equals,  and  polite  condescension  to  inferi- 
ors. She  was  taught  especially  to  show 
kindness  to  the  families  under  the  rule  of 
her  father,  and  was  early  told  of  the  noble's 
duty  to  protect  and  love  his  retainers,  as 
a  father  loves  and  protects  his  children. 
From  childhood,  presents  were  made  in 
her  name  to  those  around  her,  often  with- 
out her  previous  knowledge  or  permission, 
and  from  them  she  would  receive  profuse 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKL      179 

thanks,  —  lessons  in  the  delights  of  be- 
neficence which  could  not  fail  to  make 
their  impression  on  the  child  princess. 
Even  to  inferiors  she  used  the  polite  lan- 
guage,1 and  never  the  rude,  brusque  speech 
of  men,  or  the  careless  phrases  and  expres- 
sions of  the  lower  classes. 

The  education  of  the  daimio's  daughter 
was  conducted  entirely  at  home.2  Instead 
of  going  out  to  masters  for  instruction, 
she  was  taught  by  some  one  in  the  house- 
hold,—  one  of  her  father's  retainers,  or 
perhaps  a  member  of  her  own  private  reti- 
nue. Teachers  for  certain  branches  came 
from  outside,  and  these  were  not  expected 
to  give  the  lesson  within  a  certain  time 
and  hurry  away,  but  they  would  remain, 

1  The  Japanese  language  is  full  of  expressions  showing* 
different  shades  of  meaning  in  the  politeness  or  respect 
implied.  There  are  words  and  expressions  which  supe- 
riors in  rank  use  to  inferiors,  or  vice  versa,  and  others  used 
among  equals.  Some  phrases  belong  especially  to  the 
language  of  the  high-born,  just  as  there  are  common  ex- 
pressions of  the  people.  Some  verbs  in  this  extremely 
complex  language  must  be  altered  in  their  termination 
according  to  the  degree  of  honor  in  which  the  subject  of 
the  action  is  held  in  the  speaker's  mind. 

2  The  establishment  of  the  peeress'  school,  mentioned 
in  the  last  chapter,  is  a  great  innovation  upon  the  old-time 
ways  of  many  of  the  aristocratic  families. 


180     JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND  WOMEN. 

conversing,  sipping  tea,  and  partaking  of 
sweetmeats,  until  their  noble  pupil  was 
ready  to  receive  them.  Hospitality  re- 
quired that  the  teacher  be  offered  a  meal 
after  the  lesson,  and  this  meal  etiquette 
would  not  permit  him  to  refuse,  so  that 
both  teacher  and  pupil  mast  spend  much 
time  waiting  for  each  other  and  for  the 
lesson. 

Pursued  in  this  leisurely  way,  the  edu- 
cation of  the  noble's  daughter  could  not 
advance  very  rapidly,  and  it  usually  ended 
with  an  extremely  early  marriage  ;  and  the 
girl  wife  would  sometimes  play  with  her 
doll  in  the  new  home  until  the  living  baby 
took  its  place  to  the  young  mother. 

The  samurai  women,  who  in  one  position 
or  another  w7ere  close  attendants  on  these 
noble  ladies,  performing  for  them  every 
act  of  service,  were  often  women  of  more 
than  average  intelligence  and  education. 
From  childhood  to  old  age,  the  noble  ladies 
were  never  without  one  or  more  of  these 
maids  of  honor,  close  at  hand  to  help  or 
advise.  Some  entered  the  service  in  the 
lower  positions  for  only  a  short  period, 
leaving  sooner  or  later  to  be  married;  for 
continued  service  in  a  daimio's  household 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKI.      181 

meant  a  single  life.  Many  of  them  re- 
mained in  the  palace  all  their  days,  leading 
lives  of  devotion  to  their  mistress ;  the 
comfort  and  ease  of  which  hardly  compen- 
sated for  the  endless  formalities  and  the 
monotonous  seclusion. 

Even  the  less  responsible  and  more  me- 
nial positions  were  not  looked  down  upon, 
and  the  higher  offices  in  the  household 
were  exceedingly  honorable.  When,  once 
in  a  long  while,  a  day's  leave  of  absence 
was  granted  to  one  of  these  gentlewomen, 
and,  loaded  with  presents  sent  by  the  dai- 
mio's  lady,  she  went  on  her  visit  to  her 
home,  she  was  received  as  a  greatly  hon- 
ored member  of  her  own  family.  The  re- 
spect which  was  paid  to  her  knowledge  of 
etiquette  and  dress  was  never  lessened 
because  of  the  menial  services  she  might 
have  performed  for  those  of  noble  blood. 

The  lady  who  was  the  head  attendant, 
and  those  in  the  higher  positious,  had  a 
great  deal  of  power  and  influence  in  mat- 
ters that  concerned  their  mistress  and  the 
household  ;  just  as  the  male  retainers  de- 
cided for  the  prince,  and  in  their  own 
way,  many  of  the  affairs  of  the  province. 
The  few  conservative  old  ladies,  the  last 


182     JAPANESE  GIELS  AND   WOMEN. 

relics  of  the  numerous  retainers  that  once 
filled  the  castle,  who  still  remain  faithful 
in  attendance  in  the  homes  now  deprived 
of  the  grandeur  of  the  olden  times,  look 
with  horror  upon  the  innovations  of  the 
present  day,  and  sigh  for  the  glory  of  old 
Japan.  It  is  only  upon  compulsion  that 
they  give  up  many  of  the  now  useless  for- 
malities, and  resign  themselves  to  seeing 
their  once  so  honored  lords  jostle  elbow  to 
elbow  with  the  common  citizen. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  horror  of  one 
old  lady,  attendant  on  a  noble's  daughter 
of  high  rank,  just  entering  the  peeress5 
school,  when  it  was  told  her  that  each  stu- 
dent must  carry  in  her  own  bundle  of  books 
and  arrange  them  herself,  and  that  the  at- 
tendants were  not  allowed  in  the  class- 
room. The  poor  old  lady  was  doubtless 
indignant  at  the  thought  that  her  noble- 
born  mistress  should  have  to  perform  even 
so  slight  a  task  as  the  arranging  of  her 
own  desk  unaided. 

In  the  daimios'  houses  there  was  little 
of  the  culture  or  wit  that  graced  the  more 
aristocratic  seclusion  of  Kyoto,  and  none 
of  the  duties  aud  responsibilities  that  be- 
longed to  the  samurai  women,  so  that  the 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKI.     183 

life  of  the  daimio's  lady  was  perhaps  more 
purposeless,  and  less  stimulating  to  the 
noble  qualities,  than  the  lives  of  any  other 
of  the  women  of  Japan.  Surrounded  by 
endless  restrictions  of  etiquette,  lacking 
both  the  stimulus  that  comes  from  physical 
toil  and  that  to  be  derived  from  intellect- 
ual exertion,  the  ladies  of  this  class  of  the 
nobility  simply  vegetated.  There  is  little 
wonder  that  the  nobles  degenerated  both 
mentally  and  physically  during  the  years 
when  the  Tokugawas  held  sway ;  for  there 
was  absolutely  nothing  in  the  lives  of  the 
women  to  fit  them  to  be  the  wives  and 
mothers  of  strong  men.  Delicate,  dainty, 
refined,  dexterous  in  all  manner  of  little 
things  but  helpless  to  act  for  themselves, 

—  ladies  to  the  inmost  core  of  their  beings, 
with  instincts  of  honor  and  of  noblesse  oblige 
appearing  in  them  from  earliest  childhood, 

—  the  years  of  seclusion,  of  deference  from 
hundreds  of  retainers,  of  constant  instruc- 
tion in  the  duties  as  well  as  the  dignities 
of  their  position,  have  produced  an  abiding 
effect  upon  the  minds  of  the  women  of  this 
aristocracy,  and  to-day  even  the  youngest 
and  smallest  of  them  have  the  virtues  as 
well   as   the   failings   produced  by  nearly 


184    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

three  centuries  of  training.  They  are  lack- 
ing- in  force,  in  ambition,  in  clearness  of 
thought,  among  a  nation  abounding  in 
those  qualities  ;  but  the  national  charac- 
teristics of  dignity,  charming  manners, 
a  quick  sense  of  honor,  and  indomitable 
pride  of  race  and  nation,  combined  with 
a  personal  modesty  almost  deprecating  in 
its  humility,  —  these  are  found  among  the 
daughters  of  the  nobles  developed  to  their 
highest  extent.  With  the  qualities  of  gen- 
tleness and  delicacy  possessed  by  these  la- 
dies, which  make  them  shrink  from  rough 
contact  with  the  outer  world,  there  are 
mingled  the  stronger  qualities  of  bravery 
and  physical  courage.  A  daimio's  wife, 
as  befitted  the  wife  of  a  warrior  and  the 
daughter  of  long  generations  of  brave  men, 
never  shrank  from  facing  danger  and  death 
when  uecessary;  and  considered  the  taking 
of  her  own  life  an  honorable  and  easy  es- 
cape from  being  captured  by  her  enemy. 

Two  or  three  little  ripples  from  the  past 
broke  into  my  life  in  Tokyo,  giving  a  little 
insight  into  those  old  feudal  times,  and  the 
customs  that  were  common  then,  but  that 
are  now  gone  forever.  A  story  was  told 
me  in  Japan  by  a  lady  who  had  herself,  as 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKI.     185 

a  child,  witnessed  the  events  narrated.  It 
illustrates  the  responsibility  felt  by  the  re- 
tainers for  their  lord  and  his  house.  A 
daimio  fell  into  disgrace  with  the  Shogun, 
and  was  banished  to  his  own  capital, — 
a  castle  town  several  days'  journey  from 
Yedo,  —  as  a  punishment  for  some  offense. 
The  castle  gates  were  closed,  and  no  com- 
munication with  the  outer  world  allowed. 
During  this  period  of  disgrace,  it  happened 
that  the  noble  fell  ill,  and  died  quite  sud- 
denly before  his  punishment  was  ended. 
His  death  under  such  circumstances  was 
the  most  terrible  thing  that  could  befall 
either  himself  or  his  family,  as  his  funeral 
must  be  without  the  ordinary  tokens  of  re- 
spect; and  his  tombstone,  instead  of  bear- 
ing tribute  to  his  virtues,  and  the  favor  in 
which  he  had  been  held  by  his  lord,  must 
be  simply  the  monument  of  his  disgrace. 
This  being  the  case,  the  retainers  felt  that 
these  evils  must  be  averted  at  any  cost. 
Knowing  that  the  Shogun's  anger  was 
probably  not  so  great  as  to  make  him  wish 
to  bring  eternal  disgrace  to  their  dead 
lord,  they  at  once  decided  to  send  a  mes- 
senger to  the  Shogun,  begging  for  pardon 
on  the  plea  of  desperate  illness,  and  ask- 


186    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

ing  the  restoration  of  his  favor  before  the 
approach  of  death.  The  death  was  not 
announced,  but  the  floor  of  the  room  in 
which  the  man  had  died  was  lifted  up,  and 
the  body  let  down  to  the  ground  beneath ; 
and  through  all  the  town  it  was  announced 
that  the  daimio  was  hopelessly  ill.  Forty 
days  passed  before  the  Shogun  sent  to  the 
retainers  the  token  that  the  disgrace  was 
removed,  and  during  all  those  forty  days, 
in  castle  and  barrack  and  village,  the  fic- 
tion of  the  daimio's  illness  was  kept  up. 
As  soon  as  the  messengers  returned,  the 
body  was  drawn  up  again  through  the  floor 
and  placed  on  the  bed ;  and  all  the  re- 
tainers, from  the  least  unto  the  greatest, 
were  summoned  into  the  room  to  congratu- 
late their  master  upon  his  restoration  to 
favor.  One  by  one  they  entered  the  dark- 
ened room,  prostrated  themselves  before 
the  corpse,  and  uttered  the  formal  words 
of  congratulation.  Then  when  all,  even  to 
the  little  girl  who,  grown  to  womanhood, 
told  me  the  story,  had  been  through  the 
horrible  ceremony,  it  was  announced  that 
the  master  was  dead,  —  that  he  had  died 
immediately  after  the  return  of  the  mes- 
senger with   the  good  tidings  of  pardon. 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKI.     187 

All  obstacles  being1  thus  removed,  the  fu- 
neral was  celebrated  with  due  pomp  and 
circumstance ;  and  the  tombstone  of  the 
daimio  to-day  gives  no  hint  of  the  disgrace 
from  which  he  so  narrowly  escaped. 

Another  instance  very  similar,  throwing 
some  light  on  the  custom  of  adoption  or 
yoshii,  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  was 
the  case  of  a  nobleman  who  died  without 
children,  and  without  an  heir  appointed  to 
inherit  his  title.  It  would  never  have  done, 
in  sending  in  the  official  notice  of  death,  to 
be  unable  to  name  the  legal  head  of  the 
house  and  the  successor  to  the  title.  There 
was  also  no  male  relative  to  perform  the 
office  of  chief  mourner  at  the  funeral;  and 
so  the  death  of  the  nobleman  was  kept 
secret,  and  his  house  showed  no  signs  of 
mourning  during  a  long*  period,  until  a 
son  satisfactory  to  all  the  members  of  the 
household  had  been  adopted.  When  the 
legal  notice  of  the  adoption  had  been  sent 
in,  and  the  son  received  into  the  family  as 
heir,  then,  and  only  then,  was  the  death  of 
the  lord  announced,  the  period  of  mourn- 
ing begun,  and  the  funeral  ceremony  per- 
formed. 

Upon  one  occasion  I  was  visiting  a  Japa- 


188    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

nese  lady,  who  knew  the  interest  that  I 
took  in  seeing  and  procuring  the  old-fash- 
ioned embroidered  kimonos,  which  are  now 
entirely  out  of  style  in  Japan,  and  which 
can  onlv  be  obtained  at  second-hand  cloth- 
ing  stores,  or  at  private  sale.  My  friend 
said  that  she  had  just  been  shown  an  as- 
sortment of  old  garments  which  were  of- 
fered at  private  sale  by  the  heirs  of  a  lady, 
recently  deceased,  who  had  once  been  a 
maid  of  honor  in  a  daimio's  house.  The 
clothes  were  still  in  the  house,  and  were 
brought  in,  in  a  great  basket,  for  my  in- 
spection. Very  beautiful  garments  they 
were,  of  silk,  crepe,  and  linen,  embroidered 
elaborately,  and  in  extremely  good  order. 
Many  of  them  seemed  not  to  have  been 
worn  at  all,  but  had  been  kept  folded  away 
for  years,  and  only  brought  out  when  a  fit- 
ting occasion  came  round  at  the  proper 
season  of  the  year.  As  we  turned  over  the 
beautiful  fabrics,  a  black  broadcloth  gar- 
ment at  the  bottom  of  the  basket  aroused 
my  curiosity,  and  I  pulled  it  out  and  held 
it  up  for  closer  inspection.  A  curious  gar- 
ment it  was,  bound  with  white,  and  with  a 
great  white  crest  applique  on  the  middle  of 
the  back.     Curious  white  stripes  gave  the 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKL     189 

coat  a  military  look,  and  it  seemed  appro- 
priate rather  to  the  wardrobe  of  some  two- 
sworded  warrior  than  to  that  of  a  gentle- 
woman of  the  old  type.  To  the  question, 
How  did  such  a  coat  come  to  be  in  such  a 
place?  the  older  lady  of  the  company — • 
one  to  whom  the  old  days  were  still  the 
natural  order  and  the  new  customs  an  ex- 
otic growth  —  explained  that  the  garment 
rightfully  belonged  in  the  wardrobe  of  any 
lady-in-waiting  in  a  daimio's  house,  for  it 
was  made  to  wear  in  case  of  fire  or  attack 
when  the  men  were  away,  and  the  women 
were  expected  to  guard  the  premises.  Fur- 
ther search  among  the  relics  of  the  past 
brought  to  light  the  rest  of  the  costume : 
silk  hakama,  or  full  kilted  trousers ;  a  stiff, 
manlike  black  silk  cap  bound  with  a  white 
baud;  and  a  spear  cover  of  broadcloth,  with 
a  great  white  crest  upon  it,  like  the  one  on 
the  broadcloth  coat.  These  made  up  the 
uniform  which  must  be  donned  in  time  of 
need  by  the  ladies  of  the  palace  or  the 
castle,  for  the  defense  of  their  lord's  prop- 
erty. They  had  been  folded  away  for  twenty 
years  among  the  embroidered  robes,  to 
come  to  light  at  last  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  to  a  foreigner  a  phase  of  the  old 


190    JAPANESE  GIELS  AND    WOMEN. 

life  that  was  so  much  a  matter  of  course  to 
the  older  Japanese  that  it  never  occurred 
to  them  even  to  mention  it  to  a  stranger. 
The  elder  lady  of  the  house  was  wonder- 
fully amused  at  my  interest  in  these  mute 
memorials  of  the  past,  and  could  never  com- 
prehend why  I  was  willing  to  expend  the 
sum  of  one  dollar  for  the  sake  of  gaining 
possession  of  a  set  of  garments  for  which  I 
could  have  no  possible  use.  The  uniform 
had  probably  never  been  worn  in  actual 
warfare,  but  its  owner  had  been  trained 
in  the  use  of  the  long-handled  spear,  the 
cover  of  which  she  had  kept  stored  away 
all  these  years;  and  had  regarded  herself 
as  liable  to  be  called  into  action  at  anv 
time  as  one  of  the  home  guard,  when  the 
male  retainers  of  her  lord  were  in  the  field. 
There  are  in  the  shops  of  Tokyo  to-day 
hundreds  of  colored  prints  illustrating  the 
splendor  of  the  Shogunate  ;  for  the  fine 
clothes,  the  pageants,  the  show  and  display 
that  ended  with  the  fall  of  the  house  of 
Tokugawa,  are  still  dear  to  the  popular 
mind.  In  these  one  sees  reproduced,  in 
more  than  their  original  brilliancy  of  color- 
ing, the  daimios,  with  their  trains  of  uni- 
formed retainers,  proceeding  in  stately  pa- 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKL     191 

geant  to  the  palace  of  the  Shogun ;  the 
games,  the  dances,  the  reviews  held  before 
the  Shogun  himself;  the  princess,  with  her 
train  of  ladies  and  attendants,  visiting  the 
cherry  blossoms  at  Uyeno,  or  crossing  some 
swift  but  shallow  river  on  her  journey  to 
Yedo.  There  one  sees  the  fleet  of  red- 
lacquered  pleasure  barges  in  which  the 
Shogun  with  his  court  sailed  up  the  river 
to  Mukojima,  in  the  spring,  to  view  the 
cherry-trees  which  bloom  along  the  banks 
for  miles.  One  sees,  too,  the  interiors  of 
the  daimios'  houses,  the  intimate  domestic 
scenes  into  which  no  outsider  could  ever 
penetrate.  One  picture  shows  the  excite- 
ments consequent  upon  the  advent  of  an 
heir  to  a  noble  house,  —  the  happy  mother 
on  her  couch,  surrounded  by  brightly 
dressed  ladies-in-waiting;  the  baby  in  the 
room  adjoining;  another  group  of  brilliant 
beings  preparing  his  bath;  while  down  the 
long  piazza,  which  opens  upon  the  little 
courtyard  in  the  centre  of  the  house,  one 
sees  still  other  groups  of  servants,  bring- 
ing the  gifts  with  which  the  great  man- 
sion is  flooded  at  such  a  time.  Still  further 
away,  across  the  courtyard,  are  the  doctors, 
holding  learned  consultation  around  a  little 


192    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

table,  and  mixing  medicines  to  secure  the 
health  and  strength  of  both  mother  and 
baby. 

The  fall  of  the  Shogunate,  and  the  abo- 
lition of  castle  and  yashiki,  have  made  a 
radical  change  in  the  fashions  of  dress  in 
Japan.  One  sees  no  longer  the  beautiful 
embroidered  robes,  except  upon  the  stage, 
for  the  abolition  of  the  great  leisure  class 
has  put  the  flowered  Mmono  out  of  fashion. 
There  are  no  courts,  small  and  great,  scat- 
tered all  through  the  country,  where  the 
ladies  must  be  dressed  in  changing  styles 
for  the  changing  seasons,  and  where  the 
embroideries  that  imitate  most  closely  the 
natural  flowers  are  sure  of  a  market. 
When  one  asks,  as  every  foreigner  is  likely 
to  ask,  the  Japanese  ladies  of  one's  ac- 
quaintance, "  Why  have  you  given  up  the 
beautiful  embroideries  and  gorgeous  col- 
ors that  you  used  to  wear?"  the  answer 
always  is,  "  There  are  no  daimios'  houses 
now."  And  this  is  regarded  as  a  sufficient 
explanation  of  the  change. 

I  have  in  my  possession  to-day  two  dainty 
bits  of  the  silk  mosaic  work  before  men- 
tioned, the  work  of  the  sixteen-vear-old 
wife  of  one  of  the  proudest  and  most  con- 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIKL     193 

servative  of  the  present  generation  of  no- 
bles. A  dainty  little  creature  she  was, 
with  a  face  upon  which  her  two  years  of 
wifehood  and  one  year  of  motherhood  had 
left  no  trace  of  care.  Living  amid  her 
host  of  ladies  and  women  servants,  most  of 
them  older  and  wiser  than  herself;  having 
no  care  and  no  amusements  save  the  easy 
task  of  keeping  herself  pretty  and  well- 
dressed,  and  the  amusement  of  watching 
her  baby  grow,  and  hearing  the  chance 
rumors  that  might  come  to  her  from  the 
great  new  world  into  which  her  husband 
daily  went,  but  with  which  she  herself 
never  mingled,  —  her  days  were  one  pleas- 
ant, monotonous  round,  unawakening  alike 
either  to  soul  or  intellect.  Into  this  life  of 
remoteness  from  all  that  belongs  to  the 
new  era,  imagine  the  excitement  produced 
by  the  advent  of  a  foreign  lady,  with  an 
educated  dog,  whose  wonderful  intelligence 
had  been  already  related  to  her  by  one  of 
her  own  ladies-in-waiting.  I  shall  always 
believe  that  my  invitation  into  that  exclu- 
sive house  was  due  largely  to  the  reports 
of  my  dog,  carried  to  its  proprietors  by  one 
of  the  lady  servitors  who  had  seen  him  per- 
form upon  one  occasion.     Certain  it  is  that 


194    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

the  first  words  of  the  little  lady  of  the 
house  to  me  were  a  question  about  the  dog ; 
and  her  last  act  of  politeness  to  our  party 
was  a  warm  embrace  of  the  handsome 
collie,  who  had  given  unimpeachable  evi- 
dence that  he  understood  a  great  deal  of 
English,  —  a  tongue  which  the  daimio  him- 
self was  painfully  learning.  The  dainty 
child-wife  with  both  arms  buried  in  the 
heavy  ruff  of  the  astonished  dog  is  a  pic- 
ture that  comes  to  me  often,  and  that 
brings  up  most  pathetically  the  monotony 
of  an  existence  into  which  so  small  a  thing 
can  bring  so  much.  The  lifelike  black  and 
white  silk  puppy,  the  creeping  baby  doll 
from  Kyoto,  the  silk  mosaic  box  and  chop- 
stick  case,  —  the  work  of  my  lady's  deli- 
cate fingers,  —  are  most  agreeable  remind- 
ers of  the  kindness  and  sweetness  of  the 
little  wife,  whose  sixteen  summers  have 
been  spent  among  the  surroundings  of 
thirty  years  ago,  and  who  lives,  like  the 
enchanted  princess  of  the  fairy  tales, 
wrapped  about  by  a  spell  which  separates 
her  from  the  bustling  world  of  to-day.  The 
product  of  the  past,  —  the  daughter  of  the 
last  of  the  Shoguns,  —  she  dwells  in  her 
enchanted   house,   among  the  relics  of  a 


LIFE  IN  CASTLE  AND   YASHIEL     195 

past  which  is  still  the  present  to  her  and 
to  her  household.  So  lovely,  so  aesthetic, 
so  dainty  and  charming  seems  the  world 
into  which  one  enters  there,  that  one 
would  not  care  to  break  the  spell  that 
holds  it  as  it  is,  and  let  the  girl-wife, 
with  her  gentlewomen  and  her  kneeling 
servants,  hurry  forward  into  the  busy, 
perplexing  life  of  to-day.  May  time  deal 
gently  with  her  and  hers,  nor  rudely  break 
the  enchantment  that  surrounds  her  ! 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


SAMURAI    WOMEN. 


Samurai  was  the  name  given  to  the 
military  class  among  the  Japanese,  —  a 
class  intermediate  between  the  Emperor 
and  his  nobles  and  the  great  mass  of  the 
common  people  who  were  engaged  in  agri- 
culture, mechanical  arts,  or  trade.  Upon 
the  samurai  rested  the  defense  of  the 
country  from  enemies  at  home  or  abroad, 
as  well  as  the  preservation  of  literature 
and  learning,  and  the  conduct  of  all  offi- 
cial business.  At  the  time  of  the  fall  of 
feudalism,  there  were,  among  the  thirty- 
four  millions  of  Japanese,  about  two  mil- 
lion samurai;  and  in  this  class,  in  the 
broadest  sense  of  the  word,  must  be  in- 
cluded the  daimios,  as  well  as  their  two- 
sworded  retainers.  But  as  the  greater 
among  the  samurai  were  distinguished  by 
special  class  names,  the  word  as  commonly 
used,  and  as  used  throughout  this  work, 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  197 

applies  to  the  military  class,  who  served 
the  Shogun  and  the  daimios,  and  who 
were  supported  by  yearly  allowances  from 
the  treasuries  of  their  lords.  These  form 
a  distinct  class,  actuated  by  motives  quite 
different  from  those  of  the  lower  classes, 
and  filling'  a  great  place  in  the  history  of 
the  country.  As  the  nobility,  through  long 
inheritance  of  power  and  wealth,  became 
weak  in  body  and  mind,  the  samurai  grew 
to  be,  more  and  more,  not  only  the  sword, 
but  the  brain  of  Japan  ;  and  to-day  the 
great  work  of  bringing  the  country  out  of 
the  middle  ages  into  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury is  being  performed  by  the  samurai 
more  than  by  any  other  class. 

What,  it  may  be  asked,  are  the  traits  of 
the  samurai  which  distinguish  them,  and 
make  them  such  honored  types  of  the  per- 
fect Japanese  gentleman,  so  that  to  live  and 
die  worthy  the  name  of  samurai  was  the 
highest  ambition  of  the  soldier?  The  sa- 
murai's duty  maybe  expressed  in  one  word, 
loyalty,  — loyalty  to  his  lord  and  master,  and 
loyalty  to  his  country, — loyalty  so  true  and 
deep  that  for  it  all  human  ties,  hopes,  and 
affections,  wife,  children,  and  home,  must 
be  sacrificed  if  necessary.     Those  who  have 


198    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

read  the  tale  of  "The  Loyal  Ronins"1  — 
a  story  which  has  been  so  well  told  by  Mit- 
ford,  Dickens,  and  Greey  that  many  read- 
ers must  be  already  familiar  with  it  —  will 
remember  that  the  head  councilor  and 
retainer,  Oishi,  in  his  deep  desire  for  re- 
venge for  his  lord's  unjust  death,  divorces 
his  wife  and  sends  off  his  children,  that  they 
may  not  distract  his  thoughts  from  his 
plans ;  and  performs  his  famous  act  of  re- 
venge without  once  seeing  his  wife,  only 
letting  her  know  at  his  death  his  faithful- 
ness to  her  and  the  true  cause  of  his  seem- 
ing cruelty.  And  the  wife,  far  from  feel- 
ing wronged  by  such  an  act,  only  glories  in 
the  loyalty  of  her  husband,  who  threw  aside 
everything  to  fulfill  his  one  great  duty, 
even  though  she  herself  was  his  unhappy 
victim. 

The  true  samurai  is  always  brave,  never 
fearing  death  or  suffering  in  any  form. 
Life  and  death  are  alike  to  him,  if  no  dis- 
grace is  attached  to  his  name. 

An  incident  comes  into  my  mind  which 

1  Ronin  was  the  term  applied  to  a  samurai  who  had 
lost  his  master,  and  owed  no  feudal  allegiance  to  any 
daimio.  The  exact  meaning"  of  the  word  is  wave-man, 
signifying  one  who  wanders  to  and  fro  without  purpose, 
like  a  wave  driven  by  the  wind. 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  199 

may  serve  as  an  example  of  the  samurai 
spirit,  —  a  spirit  which  has  filled  the  his- 
tory of  Japan  with  heroic  deeds.  It  is  the 
story  of  a  long  siege,  at  the  end  of  which 
the  little  garrison  in  the  besieged  castle 
was  reduced  to  the  last  stages  of  endur- 
ance, though  hourly  expecting  reinforce- 
ment. In  this  state  of  affairs,  the  great 
question  is,  whether  to  wait  for  the  ex- 
pected aid,  or  to  surrender  immediately, 
and  the  answer  to  the  question  can  only 
be  obtained  through  a  knowledge  of  the 
enemy's  strength.  At  this  juncture,  one 
of  the  samurai  volunteers  to  steal  into  the 
camp  of  the  besiegers,  inspect  their  forces, 
and  report  their  strength  before  the  final 
decision  is  made.  He  disguises  himself, 
and  through  various  chances  is  able  to 
penetrate,  unsuspected,  into  the  midst  of 
the  enemy's  camp.  He  discovers  that  the 
besiegers  are  so  weak  that  they  cannot 
maintain  the  siege  much  longer,  but  while 
returning  to  the  castle  he  is  recognized 
and  taken  by  the  enemy.  His  captors  give 
him  one  chance  for  escape  from  the  horri- 
ble death  of  crucifixion.  He  is  to  go  to 
the  edge  of  the  moat,  and,  standing  on  an 
elevated   place,  shout  out  to  the  soldiers 


200     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

that  they  must  surrender,  for  the  forces  are 
too  strong  for  them.  He  seemingly  con- 
sents to  this,  and,  led  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  he  sees  across  the  moat  his  wife  and 
child,  who  greet  him  with  demonstrations 
of  joy.  To  her  he  waves  his  hand  ;  then, 
bravely  and  loudly,  so  that  it  may  be  heard 
by  friend  and  foe,  he  shouts  out  the  true 
tidings.  "  Wait  for  reinforcement  at  any 
cost,  for  the  besiegers  are  weak  and  will 
soon  have  to  give  up."  At  these  words 
his  enraged  enemies  seize  him  and  put 
him  to  a  death  of  horrible  torture,  but  he 
smiles  in  their  faces  as  he  tells  them  the 
sweetness  of  such  a  sacrifice  for  his  mas- 
ter. Japanese  history  abounds  with  heroic 
deeds  of  blood  displaying  the  indomitable 
courage  of  the  samurai.  In  the  reading  of 
them,  we  are  often  reminded  of  the  Spar- 
tan spirit  of  warfare,  and  samurai  women 
are  in  some  ways  very  like  those  Spartan 
mothers  who  would  rather  die  than  see 
their  sons  branded  as  cowards. 

The  implicit  obedience  which  samurai 
gave  their  lords,  when  conflicting  with 
feelings  of  loyalty  to  their  country,  often 
produced  two  opposing  forces  which  had 
to  be  overcome.     When  the  daimio  gave 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  201 

orders  that  the  keener-sighted  retainer  felt 
would  not  be  for  the  good  of  the  house, 
he  had  either  to  disobey  his  lord,  or  act 
against  his  feeling  of  loyalty.  Divided  be- 
tween the  two  duties,  the  samurai  would 
usually  do  as  he  thought  right  for  his 
country  or  his  lord,  disobeying  his  mas- 
ter's orders ;  write  a  confession  of  his  real 
motives;  and  save  his  name  from  disgrace 
by  committing  suicide.  By  this  act  he 
would  atone  for  his  disobedience,  and  his 
loyalty  would  never  be  questioned. 

The  now  abolished  custom  of  hara-kiri, 
or  the  voluntary  taking  of  one's  life  to 
avoid  disgrace,  and  blot  out  entirely  or 
partially  the  stain  on  an  houorable  name, 
is  a  curious  custom  which  has  come  down 
from  old  times.  The  ancient  heroes  stabbed 
themselves  as  calmly  as  they  did  their  ene- 
mies, and  women  as  well  as  men  knew 
how  to  use  the  short  sword  1  worn  always 

1  The  samurai  always  wore  two  swords,  a  long*  one  for 
fighting  only,  and  a  short  one  for  defense  when  possible, 
but,  as  a  last  resort,  for  hara-kiri.  The  sword  is  the  em- 
blem of  the  samurai  spirit,  and  as  such  is  respected  and 
honored.  A  samurai  took  pride  in  keeping  his  swords  as 
sharp  and  shining  as  was  possible.  He  was  never  seen 
without  the  two  swords,  but  the  longer  one  he  removed 
and  left  at  the  front  door  when  he  entered  the  house  of  a 
friend.  To  use  a  sword  badly,  to  harm  or  injure  it,  or  to 
step  over  it,  was  considered  an  insult  to  the  owner. 


202    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

at  the  side  of  the  samurai,  his  last  and 
easy  escape  from  shameful  death. 

The  young  men  of  this  class,  as  well  as 
their  masters,  the  daimios,  were  early  in- 
structed in  the  method  of  this  self-stab- 
bing, so  that  it  might  be  cleanly  and  eas- 
ily done,  for  a  bloody  and  unseemly  death 
would  not  redound  to  the  honor  of  the 
suicide.  The  fatal  cut  was  not  instanta- 
neous in  its  effect,  and  there  was  always 
opportunity  for  that  display  of  courage 
—  that  show  of  disregard  for  death  or 
pain  —  which  was  expected  of  the  brave 
man. 

The  hara-Mri  was  of  course  a  last  resort, 
but  it  was  an  honorable  death.  The  vulgar 
criminal  must  be  put  to  death  by  the  hands 
of  others,  but  the  nobler  samurai,  who 
never  cares  to  survive  disgrace,  was  con- 
demned to  hara-Mri  if  found  guilty  of  ac- 
tions worthy  of  death.  Not  to  be  allowed 
to  do  this,  but  to  be  executed  in  the  com- 
mon way,  was  a  double  disgrace  to  a  samu- 
rai. Even  to  this  day,  when  crimes  such 
as  the  assassination  of  a  minister  of  state 
are  committed,  in  the  mistaken  belief  that 
the  act  is  for  the  good  of  the  country,  the 
idea  on  the  part  of  the  assassin  is  never  to 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  203 

escape  detection.  He  calmly  gives  himself 
up  to  justice  or  takes  his  own  life,1  stating 
his  motive  for  the  deed;  and,  believing 
himself  justified  in  the  act,  is  willing  that 
his  life  should  be  the  cost. 

The  old  samurai  was  proud  of  his  rank5 
his  honorable  vocation,  his  responsibility ; 
proud  of  his  ignorance  of  trade  and  barter 
and  of  his  disregard  for  the  sordid  cares  of 
the  world,  regarding  as  far  beneath  him  all 
occupations  but  those  of  arms.  Wealth, 
as  artisan  or  farmer,  rarely  tempted  him 
to  sink  into  the  lower  ranks ;  and  his  sup- 
port from  the  daimid,  often  a  mere  pit- 
tance, insured  to  him  more  respect  and 
greater  privileges  than  wealth  as  a  heimin. 
To  this  day  even,  this  feeling  exists.  Pref- 
erence for  rank  or  position,  rather  than 
for  mere  salary,  remains  strongly  among 
the  present  generation,  so  that  official  posi- 
tions are  more  sought  after  than  the  more 
lucrative    occupations    of    trade.      Japan 

1  Kurushima,  who  attempted  to  take  the  life  of  Okuma, 
the  late  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  as  recently  as  1889, 
committed  suicide  immediately  after  throwing  the  dyna- 
mite bomb  which  caused  the  minister  the  loss  of  his  leg. 
This  was  the  more  remarkable  in  that,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  the  assassin  supposed  that  his  victim  had  escaped 
all  injury. 


204    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

is  flooded  with  small  officials,  and  yet  the 
samurai  now  is  obliged  to  lay  down  his 
sword  and  devote  his  time  to  the  once 
despised  trades,  and  to  learn  how  impor- 
tant are  the  arts  of  peace  compared  with 
those  of  war. 

The  dislike  of  anything  suggestive  of 
trade  or  barter  —  of  services  and  actions 
springing,  not  from  duty  and  from  the 
heart,  but  from  the  desire  of  gain  —  has 
strongly  tinted  many  little  customs  of  the 
day,  often  misunderstood  and  misconstrued 
by  foreigners.  In  old  Japan,  experience 
and  knowledge  could  not  be  bought  and 
sold.  Physicians  did  not  charge  for  their 
services,  but  on  the  contrary  would  decline 
to  name  or  even  receive  a  compensation 
from  those  in  their  own  clan.  Patients, 
on  their  side,  were  too  proud  to  accept 
services  free,  and  would  send  to  the  phy- 
sicians, not  as  pay  exactly,  but  more  as 
a  gift  or  a  token  of  gratitude,  a  sum 
of  money  which  varied  according  to  the 
means  of  the  giver,  as  well  as  to  the 
amount  of  service  received.  Daimios  did 
not  send  to  ask  a  teacher  how  much  an 
hour  his  time  was  worth,  and  then  arrange 
the  lessons  accordingly ;  the  teacher  was 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  205 

not  insulted  by  being  expected  to  barter 
his  knowledge  for  so  much  filthy  lucre, 
but  was  merely  asked  whether  his  time 
and  convenience  would  allow  of  his  taking 
extra  teaching.  The  request  was  made, 
not  as  a  matter  of  give  and  take,  but  a 
favor  to  be  granted.  Due  compensation, 
however,  would  never  fail  to  be  made,  —  of 
this  the  teacher  could  be  sure,  —  but  no 
agreement  wras  ever  considered  necessary. 

With  this  feeling  yet  remaining  in  Ja- 
pan, —  this  dislike  of  contracts,  and  exact 
charges  for  professional  services,  —  wre  can 
imagine  the  inward  disgust  of  the  samurai 
at  the  business-like  habits  of  the  foreign- 
ers with  whom  he  has  to  deal.  On  the 
other  hand,  his  feelings  are  not  appreciated 
by  the  foreigner,  and  his  actions  clash  with 
the  European  and  American  ideas  of  in- 
dependence and  self-respect.  In  Japan  a 
present  of  money  is  more  honorable  than 
pay,  whereas  in  America  pay  is  much  more 
honorable  than  a  present. 

The  samurai  of  to-day  is  rapidly  imbib- 
ing new  ideas,  and  is  learning  to  see  the 
world  from  a  Western  point  of  view;  but 
his  thoughts  and  actions  are  still  moulded 
on  the  ideas  of  old  Japan,  and  it  will  be  a 


206    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

long  time  before  the  loyal,  faithful,  but 
proud  spirit  of  the  samurai  will  die  out. 
The  pride  of  clan  is  now  changed  to  pride 
of  race  ;  loyalty  to  feudal  chief  has  become 
loyalty  to  the  Emperor  as  sovereign  ;  and 
the  old  traits  of  character  exist  under  the 
European  costumes  of  to-day,  as  under 
the  flowing  robes  of  the  two-sworded  re- 
tainer. 

It  is  this  same  spirit  of  loyalty  that 
has  made  it  hard  for  Christianity  to  get  a 
foothold  in  Japan.  The  Emperor  was  the 
representative  of  the  gods  of  Japan.  To 
embrace  a  new  religion  seemed  a  desertion 
of  him,  and  the  following  of  the  strange 
gods  of  the  foreigner.  The  work  of  the 
Catholic  missionaries  which  ended  so  dis- 
astrously in  1637  has  left  the  impression 
that  a  Christian  is  bound  to  offer  alle- 
giance to  the  Pope  in  much  the  same 
way  as  the  Emperor  now  receives  it  from 
his  people ;  and  the  bitterness  of  such 
a  thought  has  made  many  refuse  to  hear 
what  Christianity  really  is.  Such  words  as 
"  King  "  and  "  Lord  "  they  have  understood 
as  referring  to  temporal  things,  and  it 
has  taken  years  to  undo  this  prejudice  ;  a 
feeling    in    no   way   surprising   when    we 


SAMUEAI  WOMEN.  207 

consider  how  the  Jesuit  missionaries  once 
interfered  with  political  movements  in 
Japan. 

So  bitter  was  this  feeling",  when  Japan 
was  first  opened,  that  a  native  Christian 
was  at  once  branded  as  a  traitor  to  his 
country,  and  very  severe  was  the  persecu- 
tion against  all  Christians.  Missionaries 
at  one  time  dared  not  acknowledge  them- 
selves as  such,  and  lived  in  danger  of  their 
lives  ;  and  the  Japanese  Christian  who  re- 
mained faithful  did  so  knowing  that  he 
was  despised  and  hated.  I  know  of  one 
mother  who,  finding  command  and  en- 
treaty alike  unavailing  to  move  her  son,  a 
convert  to  the  new  religion,  threatened  to 
commit  suicide,  feeling  that  the  disgrace 
which  had  fallen  on  the  family  could  only 
be  wiped  out  with  her  death.  Happily,  all 
this  is  of  the  past,  and  to-day  the  samurai 
has  found  that  he  can  reconcile  the  new 
religion  with  his  loyalty  to  Japan,  and  that 
in  receiving  the  one  he  is  not  led  to  betray 
the  other. 

The  women  of  the  samurai  have  shared 
with  the  men  the  responsibilities  of  their 
rank,  and  the  pride  that  comes  from  he- 
reditary positions  of  responsibility.     A  wo- 


208     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

man's  first  duty  in  all  ranks  of  society  is 
obedience;  but  sacrifice  of  self,  in  however 
horrible  a  way,  was  a  duty  most  cheerfully 
and  willingly  performed,  when  by  such  sac- 
rifice father,  husband,  or  son  might  be 
the  better  able  to  fulfill  his  duty  towards 
his  feudal  superior.  The  women  in  the 
daimios'  castles  who  were  taught  fencing, 
drilled  and  uniformed,  and  relied  upon 
to  defend  the  castle  in  case  of  need,  were 
women  of  this  class,  —  women  whose  hus- 
bands and  fathers  were  soldiers,  and  in 
whose  veins  ran  the  blood  of  generations 
of  fighting  ancestors.  Gentle,  feminine, 
delicate  as  they  were,  there  was  a  possibil- 
ity of  martial  prowess  about  them  when 
the  need  for  it  came;  and  the  long  edu- 
cation in  obedience  and  loyalty  did  not 
fail  to  produce  the  desired  results.  Death, 
and  ignominy  worse  than  death,  could  be 
met  bravely,  but  disgrace  involving  loss  of 
honor  to  husband  or  feudal  lord  was  the 
one  thing  that  must  be  avoided  at  all  haz- 
ards. It  was  my  good  fortune,  many  years 
ago,  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  a  little 
Japanese  girl  who  had  lived  in  the  midst 
of  the  siege  of  Wakamatsu,  the  city  in 
which  the  Shogun's  forces  made  their  last 


SAMUBAI  WOMEN.  209 

stand  for  their  lord  and  the  system  that 
he  represented.  As  the  Emperor's  forces 
marched  upon  the  castle  town,  moat  after 
moat  was  taken,  until  at  last  men,  women, 
and  children  took  refuge  within  the  citadel 
itself  to  defend  it  until  the  last  gasp.  The 
bombs  of  the  besiegers  fell  crashing  into 
the  castle  precincts,  killing  the  women  as 
they  worked  at  whatever  they  could  do  in 
aid  of  the  defenders ;  and  even  the  little 
girls  ran  back  and  forth,  amid  the  rain  of 
bullets  and  balls,  carrying  cartridges,  which 
the  women  were  making  within  the  castle, 
to  the  men  who  were  defending  the  walls. 
"  Were  n't  you  afraid  ?  "  we  asked  the  deli- 
cate child,  when  she  told  us  of  her  own  share 
in  the  defense.  "  No,"  was  the  answer.  A 
small  but  dangerous  sword,  of  the  finest 
Japanese  steel,  was  shown  us  as  the  sword 
that  she  wore  in  her  belt  during  all  those 
days  of  war  and  tumult.  "  Why  did  you 
wear  the  sword?"  we  asked.  "  So  that  I 
would  have  it  if  I  was  taken  prisoner." 
"  What  would  you  have  done  with  it?  "  was 
the  next  question,  for  we  could  not  believe 
that  a  child  of  eight  would  undertake  to 
defend  herself  against  armed  soldiers  with 
that  little  sword.     "  I  would  have  killed 


210    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

myself,"  was  the  answer,  with  a  flash  of 
the  eye  that  showed  her  quite  capable  of 
committing  the  act  in  case  of  need. 

In  the  olden  times,  when  the  spirit  of 
warfare  was  strong  and  justice  but  scantily 
administered,  revenge  for  personal  insult, 
or  for  the  death  of  father  or  lord,  fell  upon 
the  children,  or  the  retainers.  Sometimes 
the  bloody  deed  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  a 
woman,  to  some  weak  and  feeble  girl,  who, 
in  many  a  tale,  has  braved  all  the  difficul- 
ties that  beset  a  woman's  path,  devoted  her 
life  to  an  act  of  vengeance,  and,  with  the 
courage  of  a  man,  has  often  successfully 
consummated  her  revenge. 

One  of  the  tales  of  old  Japan,  and  a  fa- 
vorite subject  of  theatrical  representation, 
is  the  death  and  revenge  of  a  lady  in  a  clai- 
mio's  palace.  Onoye,  a  daughter  of  the 
people,  child  of  a  merchant,  has  by  chance 
risen  to  the  position  of  lady-in-waiting  to  a 
daimio's  wife,  —  a  thing  so  uncommon  that 
it  has  roused  the  jealousy  of  the  other 
ladies,  who  are  of  the  samurai  class.  Iwa- 
fuji,  one  of  the  highest  and  proudest  ladies 
at  the  court,  takes  pains  on  every  occa- 
sion to  insult  and  torment  the  poor,  unof- 
fending Onoye,  whom  she  cannot  bear  to 


SAMUBAI  WOMEN.  211 

have  as  an  associate.  She  constantly  re- 
minds her  of  her  inferior  birth,  and  at  last 
challenges  her  to  a  trial  in  fencing,  in 
which  accomplishment  Onoye  is  not  pro- 
ficient, having  lacked  the  proper  training 
in  her  early  life.  At  last  the  hatred  and 
anger  of  Iwafuji  culminate  in  a  frenzy  of 
rage ;  she  forgets  herself,  and  strikes  the 
meek  and  gentle  Onoye  with  her  sandal, 
—  the  worst  insult  that  could  be  offered  to 
any  one. 

Onoye,  overcome  by  this  deep  disgrace  of- 
fered her  in  public,  returns  from  the  main 
palace  to  her  own  apartments,  and  ponders 
long  and  deeply,  in  the  bitterness  of  her 
soul,  how  to  wipe  out  the  disgrace  of  an 
insult  by  such  an  enemy. 

Her  own  faithful  maid,  seeing  her  dis- 
ordered hair  and  anxious  looks,  perceives 
some  secret  trouble,  which  her  mistress 
will  not  disclose,  and  tries,  while  perform- 
ing her  acts  of  service,  to  dispel  the  gloom 
by  telling  gayly  all  the  gossip  of  the  day. 
This  maid,  O  Haru,  is  a  type  of  the  clever 
faithful  servant.  She  is  really  of  higher 
birth  than  her  mistress,  for,  though  she 
has  been  obliged  to  go  out  to  service,  she 
was   born    of  a   samurai   family.     Onoye, 


212    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

while  listening  to  the  talk  of  her  servant, 
has  made  up  her  mind  that  only  one  thing 
can  blot  out  her  disgrace,  and  that  is  to 
commit  suicide.  She  hastily  pens  a  fare- 
well to  her  family,  for  the  deed  must  not 
be  delayed,  and  sends  with  the  letter  the 
token  of  her  disgrace,  —  Iwafuji's  sandal, 
which  she  has  kept.  O  Haru  is  sent  on 
this  errand,  and,  unconscious  of  the  ill- 
news  she  is  bearing,  she  starts  out.  On 
the  way,  the  ominous  croak  of  the  ravens, 
who  are  making  a  dismal  noise,  —  a  pre- 
sage of  ill-luck,  —  frightens  the  observant 
O  Haru.  A  little  further  on,  the  strap 
of  her  clog  breaks,  —  a  still  more  alarm- 
ing sign.  Thoroughly  frightened,  0  Haru 
turns  back,  and  reaches  her  mistress'  room 
in  time  to  find  that  the  fatal  deed  is  done, 
and  her  mistress  is  dying.  0  Haru  is 
heart-broken,  learns  the  whole  truth,  and 
vows  vengeance  on  the  enemy  of  her  loved 
mistress. 

O  Haru,  unlike  Onoye,  is  thoroughly 
trained  in  fencing.  An  occasion  arises 
when  she  returns  to  Iwafuji  in  public  the 
malicious  blow,  and  with  the  same  sandal, 
which  she  has  kept  as  a  sign  of  her  re- 
venge.    She   then   challenges    Iwafuji,  in 


SAMURAI   WOMEN,  213 

behalf  of  the  dead,  to  a  trial  in  fencing. 
The  haughty  Iwafuji  is  forced  to  accept, 
and  is  thoroughly  defeated  and  shamed 
before  the  spectators.  The  whole  truth  is 
now  made  known,  aud  the  daimid,  who  ad- 
mires and  appreciates  the  spirit  of  0  Haru, 
sends  for  her,  and  raises  her  from  her  low 
position  to  fill  the  post  of  her  dead  mis- 
tress. 

These  stories  show  the  spirit  of  the 
samurai  women ;  they  can  suffer  death 
bravely,  even  joyfully,  at  their  own  hands 
or  the  hands  of  husband  or  father,  to  avoid 
or  wipe  out  any  disgrace  which  they  re- 
gard as  a  loss  of  honor;  but  they  will  as 
bravely  and  patiently  subject  themselves  to 
a  life  of  shame  and  ignominy,  worse  than 
death,  for  the  sake  of  gaining  for  husband 
or  father  the  means  of  carrying  out  a  feudal 
obligation.  There  is  a  pathetic  scene,  in 
one  of  the  most  famous  of  the  Japanese  his- 
torical dramas,  in  which  one  seems  to  get 
the  moral  perspective  of  the  ideal  Japanese 
woman,  as  one  cannot  get  it  in  any  other 
way.  The  play  is  founded  on  the  story  of 
"  The  Loyal  Ronins,"  referred  to  in  the  be- 
ginning of  this  chapter.  The  loyal  ronins 
are  plotting  to  avenge  the  death  of  their 


214    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN. 

master  upon  the  daimio  whose  cupidity 
and  injustice  have  brought  it  about.  As 
there  is  danger  of  disloyalty  even  in  their 
own  ranks,  Oishi,  the  leader  of  the  dead 
daimio's  retainers,  displays  great  caution 
in  the  selection  of  his  fellow-conspirators, 
and  practices  every  artifice  to  secure  ab- 
solute secrecy  for  his  plans.  One  young 
man,  who  was  in  disgrace  with  his  lord  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  applies  to  be  ad- 
mitted within  the  circle  of  conspirators; 
but  as  it  is  suspected  that  he  may  not  be 
true  to  the  cause,  a  payment  in  money  is 
exacted  from  him  as  a  pledge  of  his  honor- 
able intentions.  It  is  thus  made  his  first 
duty  to  redeem  his  honor  from  all  suspicion 
by  the  payment  of  the  money,  in  order 
that  he  may  perform  his  feudal  obligation 
of  avenging  the  death  of  his  lord.  But  the 
young  man  is  poor;  he  has  married  a  poor 
girl,  and  has  agreed  to  support  not  only  his 
wife,  but  her  old  parents  as  well,  and  the 
payment  is  impossible  for  him.  In  this 
emergency,  his  wife,  at  the  suggestion  of 
her  parents,  proposes,  as  the  only  way,  to 
sell  herself,  for  a  term  of  two  years,  to 
the  proprietor  of  a  house  of  pleasure,  that 
she  may  by  this  vile  servitude  enable  her 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  215 

husband  to  escape  the  dishonor  that  must 
come  to  him  if  he  fails  to  fulfill  his  feu- 
dal duty.  Negotiations  are  entered  into, 
the  contract  is  made,  and  an  advance  pay- 
ment is  given  which  will  furnish  money 
enough  for  the  pledge  required  by  the  con- 
spirators. All  this  is  done  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  husband,  lest  his  love 
for  his  wife  and  his  grief  for  the  sacri- 
fice prevent  him  from  accepting  the  only 
means  left  to  prove  his  loyalty.  The  noble 
wife  even  plans  to  leave  her  home  while 
he  is  away  on  a  hunting  expedition,  and 
so  spare  him  the  pain  of  parting.  His 
emotion  upon  learning  of  this  venture  in 
business  is  not  of  wrath  at  the  disgrace 
that  has  overtaken  his  family,  but  simply 
of  grief  that  his  wife  and  her  parents  must 
make  so  great  a  sacrifice  to  save  his  honor. 
It  is  a  terrible  affliction,  but  it  is  not  a  dis- 
grace in  any  way  parallel  to  the  disgrace 
of  disloyalty  to  his  lord.  And  the  heroic 
wife,  when  the  men  come  to  carry  her  away, 
is  upheld  through  all  the  trying  farewells 
by  the  consciousness  that  she  is  making  as 
noble  a  sacrifice  of  herself  as  did  the  wife 
of  Yamato  Dake  when  she  leaped  into  the 
sea  to  avert  the  wrath  of  the  sea-god  from 


216    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

her  husband.  The  Japanese,  both  men 
and  women,  knowing  this  story  and  many 
others  similar  in  character,  can  see,  as  we 
cannot  from  our  point  of  view,  that,  even  if 
the  body  be  defiled,  there  is  no  defilement 
of  the  soul,  for  the  woman  is  fulfilling  her 
highest  duty  in  sacrificing  all,  even  her 
dearest  possession,  for  the  honor  of  her 
husband.  It  is  a  climax  of  self-abnegation 
that  brings  nothing  but  honor  to  the  soul 
of  her  who  reaches  it.  Japanese  women 
who  read  this  story  feel  profound  pity  for 
the  poor  wife,  and  a  horror  of  a  sacrifice 
that  binds  her  to  a  life  which  outwardly, 
to  the  Japanese  mind  even,  is  the  lowest 
depth  a  woman  ever  reaches.  But  they  do 
not  despise  her  for  the  act ;  nor  would  they 
refuse  to  receive  her  even  were  she  to  ap- 
pear in  living  form  to-day  in  any  Japanese 
home,  where,  thanks  to  happier  fortunes, 
such  sacrifices  are  not  demanded.  Just 
at  this  point  is  the  difference  of  moral 
perspective  that  foreigners  visiting  Japan 
find  so  hard  to  understand,  and  that  leads 
many,  who  have  lived  in  the  country  the 
longest,  to  believe  that  there  is  no  modesty 
and  purity  among  Japanese  women.  It  is 
this  that  makes  it  possible  for  the  vilest 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  217 

of  stories,  and  those  that  have  the  least 
foundation  in  fact,  to  find  easy  belief  among 
foreigners,  even  if  they  be  told  about  the 
purest,  most  high-minded,  and  most  honor- 
able of  Japanese  women.  Our  maidens,  as 
they  grow  to  womanhood,  are  taught  that 
anything  is  better  than  personal  dishonor, 
and  their  maidenly  instincts  side  with  the 
teaching.  With  us,  a  virtuous  woman  does 
not  mean  a  brave,  a  heroic,  an  unselfish,  or 
self-sacrificing  woman,  but  means  simply 
one  who  keeps  herself  from  personal  dis- 
honor. Chastity  is  the  supreme  virtue  for 
a  woman ;  all  other  virtues  are  secondary 
compared  with  it.  This  is  our  point  of 
view,  and  the  whole  perspective  is  arranged 
with  that  virtue  in  the  foreground.  Dis- 
miss this  for  a  moment,  aud  consider  the 
moral  training  of  the  Japanese  maiden. 
From  earliest  youth  until  she  reaches  ma- 
turity, she  is  constantly  taught  that  obedi- 
ence and  loyalty  are  the  supreme  virtues, 
which  must  be  preserved  even  at  the  sacri- 
fice of  all  other  and  lesser  virtues.  She  is 
told  that  for  the  good  of  father  or  husband 
she  must  be  willing  to  meet  any  danger, 
endure  any  dishonor,  perpetrate  any  crime, 
give  up  any  treasure.     She  must  consider 


218    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

that  nothing  belonging  solely  to  herself  is 
of  any  importance  compared  with  the  good 
of  her  master,  her  family,  or  her  country. 
Place  this  thought  of  obedience  and  loyalty, 
to  the  point  of  absolute  self-abnegation,  in 
the  foreground,  and  your  perspective  is  al- 
tered, the  other  virtues  occupying  places  of 
varying  importance.  Because  a  Japanese 
woman  will  sometimes  sacrifice  her  personal 
virtue  for  the  sake  of  father  or  husband, 
does  it  follow  that  all  Japanese  women  are 
unchaste  and  impure?  In  many  cases  this 
sacrifice  is  the  noblest  that  she  believes 
possible,  and  she  goes  to  it,  as  she  would 
go  to  death  in  any  dreadful  form,  for  those 
whom  she  loves,  and  to  whom  she  owes  the 
duty  of  obedience.  The  Japanese  maiden 
grows  to  womanhood  no  less  pure  and 
modest  than  our  own  girls,  but  our  girls 
are  never  called  upon  to  sacrifice  their  mod- 
esty for  the  sake  of  those  whom  they  love 
best ;  nor  is  it  expected  of  any  woman  in 
this  country  that  she  exist  solely  for  the 
good  of  some  one  else,  in  whatever  way  he 
chooses  to  use  her,  during  all  the  years  of 
her  life.  Let  us  take  this  difference  into 
our  thought  in  forming  our  judgment,  and 
let  us  rather  seek  the  causes  that  underlie 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  219 

the  'actions  than  pass  judgment  upon  the 
actions  themselves.  From  a  close  study  of 
the  characters  of  many  Japanese  women 
and  girls,  I  am  quite  convinced  that  few 
women  in  any  country  do  their  duty,  as 
they  see  it,  more  nobly,  more  single-inind- 
edly,  and  more  satisfactorily  to  those  about 
them,  than  the  women  of  Japan. 

Many  argue  that  the  purity  of  Japanese 
women,  as  compared  with  the  men,  the 
ready  obedience  which  they  yield,  their 
sweet  characters  and  unselfish  devotiou  as 
wives  and  mothers,  are  merely  the  results 
of  the  restraint  uuder  which  they  live, 
and  that  they  are  too  weak  to  be  allowed 
to  enjoy  freedom  of  thought  and  action. 
Whether  this  be  true  or  no  is  a  point 
which  we  leave  for  others  to  take  up,  as 
time  shall  have  provided  new  data  for  rea- 
soning on  the  subject. 

To  me,  the  sense  of  duty  seems  to  be 
strongly  developed  in  the  Japanese  wo- 
men, especially  in  those  of  the  samurai 
class.  Conscience  seems  as  active,  though 
often  in  a  different  manner,  as  the  old-fash- 
ioned New  England  conscience,  transmitted 
through  the  bluest  of  Puritan  blood.  And 
when  a  duty  has  once  been  recognized  as 


220    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

such,  no  timidity,  or  mortification,  oi^ear 
of  ridicule  will  prevent  the  perfornpice 
of  it.  A  case  comes  to  my  mind  now  of 
a  young  girl  of  sixteen,  who  made  public 
confession  before  her  schoolmates  of  short- 
comings of  which  none  of  them  knew,  for 
the  sake  of  easing  her  troubled  conscience 
and  warning  her  schoolmates  against  simi- 
lar errors.  The  circumstances  were  as  fol- 
lows :  The  young  girl  had  recently  lost  her 
grandmother,  a  most  loving  and  affection- 
ate old  lady,  who  had  taken  the  place  of 
a  mother  to  the  child  from  her  earliest 
infancy.  In  a  somewhat  unhappy  home, 
the  love  of  the  old  grandmother  was  the 
one  bright  spot;  and  when  she  was  taken 
away,  the  poor,  lonely  child's  memory  re- 
called all  of  her  own  shortcomings  to  this 
beloved  friend ;  and,  too  late  to  make  amend- 
ment to  the  old  lady  herself,  she  dwelt 
on  her  own  undutifulness,  and  decided  that 
she  must  by  some  means  do  penance,  or 
make  atonement  for  her  fault.  She  might, 
if  she  made  a  confession  before  her  school- 
mates, warn  them  against  similar  mistakes ; 
and  accordingly  she  prepared,  for  the  liter- 
ary society  in  which  the  girls  took  what 
part  they  chose,  a  long  confession,  written 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  221 

in  poetical  style,  and  read  it  before  her 
schoolmates  and  teachers.  It  was  a  ter- 
rible ordeal,  as  one  could  see  by  the  blush- 
ing face  and  breaking  voice,  often  choked 
with  sobs;  and  when  at  the  conclusion  she 
urged  her  friends  to  behave  in  such  a  way 
to  their  dear  ones  that  they  need  never 
suffer  what  she  had  had  to  endure  since 
her  grandmother's  death,  there  was  not  a 
dry  eye  in  the  room,  and  many  of  the  girls 
were  sobbing  aloud.  It  was  a  curious  ex- 
piation and  a  touching  one,  but  one  not  in 
the  least  exceptional  or  uncharacteristic  of 
the  spirit  of  duty  that  actuates  the  best 
women  of  the  samurai  class. 

Here  is  another  instance  which  illus- 
trates this  sense  of  duty,  and  desire  of 
atoning  for  past  mistakes  or  sins.  At  the 
time  of  the  overthrow  of  the  feudal  sys- 
tem, the  samurai,  bred  to  loyalty  to  their 
own  feudal  superiors  as  their  highest  duty, 
found  themselves  ranged  on  different  sides 
in  the  struggle,  according  to  the  positions 
in  which  their  lords  placed  themselves.  At 
the  end  of  the  struggle,  those  who  had 
followed  their  daimios  to  the  field,  in  de- 
fense of  the  Shogunate,  found  that  they 
had  been  fighting  against  the  Emperor,  the 


222    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

Son  of  Heaven  himself,  who  had  at  last 
emerged  from  the  seclusion  of  centuries  to 
govern  his  own  empire.  Thus  the  sup- 
porters of  the  Shogunate,  while  absolutely 
loyal  to  their  daimios,  had  been  disloyal  to 
the  higher  power  of  the  Emperor;  and 
had  put  themselves  in  the  position  of  trai- 
tors to  their  country.  There  was  a  conflict 
of  principles  there  somewhat  similar  to 
that  which  took  place  in  our  Civil  War, 
when,  in  the  South,  he  who  was  true  to  his 
State  became  a  traitor  to  his  country,  and 
he  who  was  true  to  his  country  became 
a  traitor  to  his  State.  Two  ladies  of  the 
finest  samurai  type  had,  with  absolute  loy- 
alty to  a  lost  cause,  aided  by  every  means 
in  their  power  in  the  defense  of  the  city  of 
Wakamatsu  against  the  victorious  forces 
of  the  Emperor.  They  had  held  on  to  the 
bitter  end,  and  had  been  banished,  with 
others  of  their  family  and  clan,  to  a  remote 
province,  for  some  years  after  the  end  of 
the  w7ar.  In  1877,  eleven  years  after  the 
close  of  the  War  of  the  Restoration,  a  re- 
bellion broke  out  in  the  south  which  re- 
quired a  considerable  expenditure  of  blood 
and  money  for  its  suppression.  When  the 
new  war  began,  these  two  ladies  presented 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  223 

a  petition  to  the  government,  in  which 
they  begged  that  they  might  be  allowed  to 
make  amends  for  their  former  position  of 
opposition  to  the  Emperor,  by  going  with 
the  army  to  the  field  as  hospital  nurses. 
At  that  time,  no  lady  in  Japan  had  ever 
gone  to  the  front  to  nurse  the  wounded 
soldiers;  but  to  those  two  brave  women 
was  granted  the  privilege  of  making  atone- 
ment for  past  disloyalty,  by  the  exercise  of 
the  skill  and  nerve  that  they  had  gained  in 
their  experience  of  war  against  the  Em- 
peror, in  the  nursing  of  soldiers  wounded 
in  his  defense. 

In  the  old  days,  the  women  of  the  samu- 
rai class  fulfilled  most  nobly  the  duties 
that  fell  to  their  lot.  As  wives  and  mo- 
thers in  time  of  peace,  they  performed  their 
work  faithfully  in  the  quiet  of  their  homes ; 
and,  their  time  filled  with  household  cares, 
they  busied  themselves  with  the  smaller 
duties  of  life.  As  the  wives  and  mothers 
of  soldiers,  they  cultivated  the  heroic  spirit 
befitting  their  position,  fearing  no  dan- 
ger save  such  as  involved  disgrace.  As  the 
home-guard  in  time  of  need,  they  stood 
ready  to  defend  their  master's  possessions 
with  their  own  lives;  as  gentlewomen  and 


224     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

ladies-in-waiting  at  the  court  of  the  dai- 
mio  or  the  Shogun,  they  cultivated  the  arts 
and  accomplishments  required  for  their 
position,  and  veiled  the  martial  spirit  that 
dwelt  within  them  under  an  exterior  as 
feminine,  as  gracious,  as  cultivated  and 
charming,  as  that  of  any  ladies  of  Europe 
or  America.  To-day  in  the  new  Japan, 
where  the  samurai  have  no  longer  their 
yearly  allowance  from  their  lords  and  their 
feudal  duties,  but,  scattered  through  the 
whole  nation,  are  engaged  in  all  the  arts 
and  trades,  and  are  infusing  the  old  spirit 
into  the  new  life,  what  are  the  women 
doing  ?  As  the  government  of  the  land 
to-day  lies  in  the  hands  of  the  samurai 
men  under  the  Emperor,  so  the  progress 
of  the  women,  the  new  ideas  of  work  for 
women,  are  in  the  hands  of  the  samurai 
women,  led  by  the  Empress.  Wherever 
there  is  progress  among  the  women,  wher- 
ever they  are  looking  about  for  new  oppor- 
tunities, entering  new  occupations,  elevat- 
ing the  home,  opening  hospitals,  indus- 
trial schools,  asylums,  there  you  will  find 
the  leading  spirits  always  of  the  samurai 
class.  In  the  recent  changes,  some  of  this 
class  have  risen  above  their  former  state 


SAMUEAI  WOMEN.  225 

and  joined  the  ranks  of  the  nobility ;  and 
there  the  presence  of  the  samurai  spirit  in- 
fuses new  life  into  the  aristocracy.  So,  too, 
the  changes  that  have  raised  some  have 
lowered  others,  and  the  samurai  is  now  to 
be  found  in  the  formerly  despised  occupa- 
tions of  trade  and  industry,  among  the 
merchants,  the  farmers,  the  fishermen,  the 
artisans,  and  the  domestic  servants.  But 
wherever  his  lot  is  cast,  the  old  training, 
the  old  ideals,  the  old  pride  of  family,  still 
keep  him  separate  from  his  present  rank, 
and,  instead  of  pulling  him  down  to  the 
level  of  those  about  him,  tend  to  raise  that 
level  by  the  example  of  honor  and  intelli- 
gence that  he  sets.  The  changed  fortunes 
were  not  met  without  a  murmur.  Most  of 
the  outrages,  the  reactionary  movements, 
the  riots  and  inflammatory  speeches  and 
writings,  that  characterized  the  long  period 
of  disquiet  following  the  Restoration,  came 
from  men  of  this  class,  who  saw  their  sup- 
port taken  from  them,  leaving  them  un- 
able to  dig  and  ashamed  to  beg.  But  the 
greater  part  of  them  went  sturdily  to  work, 
in  government  positions  if  they  could  get 
them,  in  the  army,  on  the  police  force,  on 
the  farm,  in  the  shop,  at  trades,  at  service, 


226     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

—  even  to  the  humble  work  of  wheeling  a 
jinrikisha,  if  other  honest  occupation  could 
not  be  found  ;  and  the  women  shared  pa- 
tiently and  bravely  the  changed  fortunes  of 
the  men,  doing  whatever  they  could  toward 
bettering  them.  The  samurai  women  to- 
day are  eagerly  working  into  the  positions 
of  teachers,  interpreters,  trained  nurses, 
and  whatever  other  places  there  are  which 
may  be  honorably  occupied  by  women.  The 
girls'  schools,  both  government  and  pri- 
vate, find  many  of  their  pupils  among  the 
samurai  class ;  and  their  deference  and 
obedience  to  their  teachers  and  superiors, 
their  ambition  and  keen  sense  of  honor  in 
the  school-room,  show  the  influence  of  the 
samurai  feeling  over  new  Japan.  To  the 
samurai  women  belongs  the  task  —  and 
they  have  already  begun  to  perform  it  — 
of  establishing  upon  a  broader  and  surer 
foundation  the  position  of  women  in  their 
own  country.  They,  as  the  most  intel- 
ligent, will  be  the  first  to  perceive  the 
remedy  for  present  evils,  and  will,  if  I 
mistake  not,  move  heaven  and  earth,  at 
some  time  in  the  near  future,  to  have  that 
remedy  applied  to  their  own  case.  Most  of 
them  read  the  literature  of  the  day,  some 


SAMURAI  WOMEN.  227 

of  them  in  at  least  one  language  beside 
their  own ;  a  few  have  had  the  benefit  of 
travel  abroad,  and  have  seen  what  the  home 
and  the  family  are  in  Christian  lands. 
There  is  as  much  of  the  unconquerable 
spirit  of  the  samurai  to-day  in  the  women 
as  in  the  men ;  and  it  will  not  be  very  long 
before  that  spirit  will  begin  to  show  itself 
in  working  for  the  establishment  of  their 
homes  and  families  upon  some  stronger 
basis  than  the  will  of  the  husband  and 
father. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PEASANT   WOMEN. 

The  great  heimin  class  includes  not 
only  the  peasants  of  Japan,  but  also  the 
artisans  and  merchants ;  artisans  ranking* 
below  farmers,  and  merchants  below  arti- 
sans, in  the  social  structure.  It  includes 
the  whole  of  the  common  people,  except 
such  as  were  in  former  times  altogether 
below  the  level  of  respectability,  the  eta 
and  hinin,1 —  outcasts  who  lived  by  beg- 
ging, slaughtering  animals,  caring*  for  dead 
bodies,  tanning  skins,  and  other  employ- 
ments which  rendered  them  unclean  ac- 
cording to  the  old  notions.  From  very 
early  times  the  agricultural  class  has  been 
sharply  divided  from  the  samurai  or  mili- 

1  The  laws  against  the  Ha  and  hinin,  making  of  them 
a  distinct,  unclean  class,  and  forbidding  their  intermar- 
riage -with  any  of  the  higher  classes,  have  recently  been 
abolished.  There  is  now  no  rank  distinction  of  any 
practical  value,  except  that  between  noble  and  common 
people.  H&min  and  samurai  are  now  indiscriminately 
mingled. 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  229 

tary.  Here  and  there  one  from  the  peas- 
antry mounts  by  force  of  his  personal  quali- 
ties into  the  higher  ranks,  for  there  is  no 
caste  system  that  prevents  the  passing 
from  one  class  into  another,  —  only  a  class 
prejudice  that  serves  very  nearly  the  same 
purpose,  in  keeping  samurai  and  heimin  in 
their  places,  that  the  race  prejudice  in  this 
country  serves  in  confining  the  negroes, 
North  and  South,  to  certain  positions  and 
occupations.  The  first  division  of  the  mili- 
tary from  the  peasantry  occurred  in  the 
eighth  century,  and  since  then  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  each  class  have  tended  to 
produce  quite  different  characteristics  in 
persons  originally  of  the  same  stock.  To 
the  soldier  class  have  fallen  learning,  skill 
in  arms  and  horsemanship,  opportunities 
to  rise  to  places  of  honor  and  power,  lives 
free  from  sordid  care  in  regard  to  the 
daily  rice,  and  in  which  noble  ideas  of  duty 
and  loyalty  can  spring  up  and  bear  fruit  in 
heroic  deeds.  To  the  peasant,  tilling  his 
little  rice-field  year  after  year,  have  come 
the  heavy  burdens  of  taxation ;  the  grind- 
ing toil  for  a  mere  pittance  of  food  for 
himself  and  his  family;  the  patient  bearing 
of  all  things  imposed  by  his  superiors,  with 


230    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

little  hope  of  gain  for  himself,  whatever 
change  the  fortunes  of  war  may  bring  to 
those  above  him  in  the  social  scale.  Is 
there  wonder  that,  as  the  years  have  gone 
by,  his  wits  have  grown  heavy  under  his 
daily  drudgery ;  that  he  knows  little  and 
understands  less  of  the  changes  that  are 
taking  place  in  his  native  land  ;  that  he  is 
easily  moved  by  only  one  thing,  and  that 
the  failure  of  his  crops,  or  the  shortening 
of  his  returns  from  his  land  by  heavier 
taxation  ?  This  is  true  of  the  heimiu  as  a 
class:  they  are  conservative,  fearing  that 
change  will  but  tend  to  make  harder  a  lot 
that  is  none  too  easy ;  and  though  peace- 
able and  gentle  usually,  they  may  be  moved 
to  blind  acts  of  riot  and  bloodshed  by  any 
political  change  that  seems  likely  to  pro- 
duce heavier  taxation,  or  even  by  a  failure 
of  their  crops,  when  they  see  themselves 
and  their  families  starving  while  the  mili- 
tary and  official  classes  have  enough  and 
to  spare.  But  though,  as  a  class,  the  farm- 
ers are  ignorant  and  heavy,  they  are  sel- 
dom entirely  illiterate ;  and  everywhere, 
throughout  the  country,  one  finds  men  be- 
longing to  this  class  who  are  well  educated 
and  have  risen  to  positions  of  much  re- 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  231 

sponsibility  and  power,  and  are  able  to  hold 
their  own,  and  think  for  themselves  and 
for  their  brethren.  From  an  article  in  the 
"  Tokyo  Mail,"  entitled  "  A  Memorialist  of 
the  Latter  Days  of  the  Tokugawa  Govern- 
ment," I  quote  passages  which  show  the 
thoughts  of  one  of  the  heimin  upon  the 
condition  of  his  own  class  about  the  year 
1850.  It  is  from  a  petition  sent  to  the 
Shogun  by  the  head-man  of  the  village  of 
Ogushi. 

The  first  point  in  the  petition,  is,  that 
there  is  a  growing  tendency  to  luxury 
among  the  military  and  official  classes. 
"  It  is  useless  to  issue  orders  commanding 
peasants  and  others  to  be  frugal  and  in- 
dustrious, when  those  in  power,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  show  a  good  example  to  the 
people,  are  themselves  steeped  in  luxury 
and  idleness."  He  ventures  to  reproach 
the  Shoguns  themselves  by  pointing  to  the 
extravagance  with  which  they  have  deco- 
rated the  mausoleums  at  Nikko  and  else- 
where. "  Is  this,"  he  asks,  "  in  keeping 
with  the  intentions  of  the  glorious  founder 
of  your  dynasty?  Look  at  the  shrines  in 
Ise  and  elsewhere,  and  at  the  sepulchres  of 
the  Emperors  of  successive  ages.  Is  gold 
or  silver  used  in  decorating  them  ?  "     He 


232    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

then  turns  to  the  vassals  of  the  Shogun, 
and  charges  them  with  being  tyrannical, 
rapacious,  and  low-minded.  "  Samurai," 
he  continues, — "samurai  are  finely  attired, 
but  how  contemptible  they  look  in  the  eyes 
of  those  peasants  who  know  how  to  be  con- 
tented with  what  they  have  !  " 

Further  on  in  the  same  memorial,  he 
points  out  what  he  regards  as  a  grave  mis- 
take in  the  policy  of  the  Shogun.  A  de- 
cree had  just  been  issued  prohibiting  the 
peasantry  from  exercising  themselves  with 
sword-play,  and  from  wearing  swords.  Of 
this  he  says :  "  Perhaps  this  decree  may 
have  been  issued  on  the  supposition  that 
Japan  is  naturally  impregnable  and  de- 
fended on  all  sides.  But  when  she  receives 
insult  from  a  foreign  country,  it  may  be- 
come necessary  to  call  on  the  militia.  And 
who  knows  that  men  of  extraordinary  mili- 
tary genius,  like  Toyotomi,1  will  not  again 
appear  among  the  lower  classes  ?  " 

1  Toyotomi  Hideyoshi,  a  peasant  boy,  rose  from  the 
position  of  a  groom  to  be  the  actual  ruler  of  Japan  dur- 
ing' the  Middle  Ages.  He  it  was  who  in  1587  issued  a 
decree  of  banishment  against  the  Christian  missionaries 
in  Japan.  He  is  called  Faxiba  in  the  writings  of  these 
missionaries,  and  in  Japan  he  is  frequently  spoken  of  as 
Taiko  Sama,  a  title,  not  a  name ;  but  a  title  that,  used 
alone,  refers  always  to  him.  For  further  account  of  his 
life,  see  Griffis,  Mikado's  Empire,  book  i.,  chap.  xxiv. 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  233 

He  ends  his  memorial  with  this  warn- 
ing: "  Should  the  Shogun's  court,  aud  the 
military  class  in  general,  persist  in  the 
present  oppressive  way  of  government,  Hea- 
ven will  visit  this  land  with  still  greater 
'calamities.  If  this  circumstance  is  not 
clearly  kept  in  view,  the  consequence  may 
be  civil  disturbance.  I,  therefore,  beseech 
that  the  instructions  of  the  glorious  foun- 
der of  the  dynasty  be  acted  upon ;  that 
simplicity  and  frugality  be  made  the  guid- 
ing principle  of  administration  ;  and  that 
a  general  amnesty  be  proclaimed,  thereby 
complying  with  the  will  of  Heaven  and  pla- 
cating the  people.  Should  these  humble 
suggestions  of  mine  be  acted  upon,  pro- 
spective calamities  will  fly  before  the  light 
of  virtue.  Whether  the  country  is  to  be 
safe  or  not  depends  upon  whether  the  ad- 
ministration is  carried  on  with  mercy  or 
not.  What  I  pray  for  is,  that  the  country 
may  enjoy  peace  and  tranquillity,  that  the 
harvest  may  be  plentiful,  and  that  the  peo- 
ple may  be  happy  and  prosperous." 

One  is  able  to  see,  by  this  rather  re- 
markable document,  that  the  peasants  of 
Japan,  though  frequently  almost  crushed 
by  the  heavy  burdens  of  taxation,  do  not, 


234    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

even  in  the  most  grinding  poverty,  lose 
entirely  that  independence  of  thought  and 
of  action  which  is  characteristic  of  their 
nation.  They  do  not  consider  themselves 
as  a  servile  class,  nor  their  military  rulers 
as  beyond  criticism  or  reproach,  but  are 
ready  to  speak  boldly  for  their  rights  when- 
ever an  opportunity  occurs.  There  is  a 
pathetic  story,  told  in  Mitford's  "  Tales  of 
Old  Japan/'  of  a  peasant,  the  head-man  of 
his  village,  who  goes  to  Yedo  to  present 
to  the  Shogun  a  complaint,  on  behalf  of 
his  fellow-villagers,  of  the  extortions  and 
exactions  of  his  daimio.  He  is  unable  to 
get  any  one  to  present  his  memorial  to  the 
Shogun,  so  at  last  he  stops  the  great  lord's 
palanquin  in  the  street,  —  an  act  in  itself 
punishable  with  death,  —  and  thrusts  the 
paper  forcibly  into  his  hand.  The  petition 
is  read,  and  his  fellow- villagers  saved  from 
further  oppression,  but  the  head-man,  for 
his  daring,  is  condemned  by  his  own  dai- 
mio to  suffer  death  by  crucifixion,  —  a  fate 
which  he  meets  with  the  same  heroism 
with  which  he  dared  everything  to  save  his 
fellows  from  suffering. 

The  peasant,  though  ignorant  and  op- 
pressed, has  not  lost  his  manhood ;  has  not 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  235 

become  a  slave  or  a  serf,  but  clings  to  his 
rights,  so  far  as  he  knows  what  they  are ; 
and  is  ready  to  hold  his  own  against  all 
comers,  when  the  question  in  debate  is  one 
that  appeals  to  his  mind.  The  rulers  of 
Japan  have  always  the  peasantry  to  reckon 
with  when  their  ruling  becomes  unjust  or 
oppressive.  They  cannot  be  cowed,  though 
they  may  be  misled  for  a  time,  and  they 
form  a  conservative  element  that  serves  to 
hold  in  check  too  hasty  rulers  who  would 
introduce  new  measures  too  quickly,  and 
would  be  likely  to  find  the  new  wine  burst- 
ing the  old  bottles,  as  well  as  to  prevent 
any  rash  extravagance  in  the  way  of  per- 
sonal expenditure  on  the  part  of  govern- 
ment officials.  The  influence  of  this  great 
class  will  be  more  and  more  felt  as  the 
new  parliamentary  institutions  gain  in 
power,  and  a  more  close  connection  is  es- 
tablished between  the  throne  and  public 
opinion. 

In  considering  this  great  heimin  class, 
it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  artisans, 
who  form  so  large  a  part  of  it,  are  also  the 
artists  who  have  made  the  reputation  of 
Japan,  in  Europe  and  America,  as  one  of 
the   countries   where  art  and  the  love  of 


236    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

beauty  in  form  and  color  are  still  instinct 
with  life.  The  Japanese  artisan  works 
with  patient  toil,  and  with  the  skill  and 
originality  of  the  artist,  to  produce  some- 
thing that  shall  be  individual  and  his  own ; 
not  simply  to  make,  after  a  pattern,  some 
utensil  or  ornament  for  which  he  cares 
nothing,  so  long  as  a  purchaser  can  be 
found  for  it,  or  an  employer  can  be  induced 
to  pay  him  money  for  making  it.  It  seems 
as  easy  for  the  Japanese  to  make  things 
pretty  and  in  good  taste,  even  when  they 
are  cheap  and  only  used  by  the  poorer 
people,  as  it  is  for  American  mills  and 
workers  to  turn  out  endless  varieties  of  at- 
tempts at  decoration,  —  all  so  hideous  that 
a  poor  person  must  be  content,  either  to  be 
surrounded  by  the  worst  possible  taste,  or 
to  purchase  only  such  furnishings  and 
utensils  as  are  entirely  without  decoration 
of  any  kind.  "  Cheap  "  and  "  nasty  "  have 
come  to  be  almost  synonymous  words  with 
us,  for  the  reason  that  taste  in  decoration 
is  so  rare  that  it  commands  a  monopoly 
price,  and  can  only  be  procured  by  the 
wealthy.  In  Japan  this  is  not  the  case, 
for  the  cheapest  of  things  may  be  found  in 
graceful  and  artistic  designs,  —  indeed  can 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  237 

hardly  be  found  in  any  designs  that  are  not 
graceful  and  artistic ;  and  the  poorest  and 
commonest  of  the  people  may  have  about 
them  the  little  things  that  go  to  cultivate 
the  aesthetic  part  of  human  nature.  It 
was  not  the  costly  art  of  Japan  that  inter- 
ested me  the  most,  although  that  is,  of 
course,  the  most  wonderful  proof  of  the 
capacity  and  patience  of  individuals  among 
this  heimin  class :  but  it  was  the  common, 
cheap,  every-day  art  that  meets  one  at 
every  turn ;  the  love  for  the  beautiful,  in 
both  nature  and  art,  that  belongs  to  the 
common  coolie  as  well  as  to  the  nobleman. 
The  cheap  prints,  the  blue  and  white  tow- 
els, the  common  teacups  and  pots,  the 
great  iron  kettles  in  use  over  the  fire  in 
the  farmhouse  kitchen,  —  all  these  are 
things  as  pretty  and  tasteful  in  their  way 
as  the  rich  crepes,  the  silver  incense  burn- 
ers, the  delicate  porcelain,  and  the  elegant 
lacquer  that  fill  the  storehouse  of  the  dai- 
inio  ;  and  they  show,  much  more  conclu- 
sively than  these  costlier  things,  the  uni- 
versal sense  of  beauty  among  the  people. 

The  artisan  works  at  his  home,  helped 
less  often  by  hired  laborers  than  by  his 
own  children,  who  learn  the  trade  of  their 


238    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

father;  and  his  house,  though  small,  is 
clean  and  tasteful,  with  its  soft  mats,  its 
dainty  tea  service,  its  little  hanging  scroll 
upon  the  walls,  and  its  vase  of  gracefully 
arranged  flowers  in  the  corner;  for  flow- 
ers, even  in  winter  and  in  the  great  city  of 
Tokyo,  are  so  cheap  that  they  are  never 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  poorest.  In  homes 
that  seem  to  the  foreign  mind  utterly 
lacking  in  the  comforts  and  even  the  ne- 
cessities of  life,  one  finds  the  few  furnish- 
ings and  utensils  beautiful  in  shape  and 
decoration ;  and  the  money  that  in  this 
country  must  be  spent  in  beds,  tables,  and 
chairs  can  be  used  for  the  purchase  of 
kakemonos,  flowers,  and  vases,  and  for  va- 
rious gratifications  of  the  aesthetic  taste. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  Japanese  laborer,  who 
lives  on  a  daily  wage  which  would  reduce 
an  American  or  European  to  the  verge  of 
starvation,  finds  both  time  and  money  for 
the  cultivation  of  that  sense  of  beauty 
which  is  too  often  crushed  completely  out 
of  the  lower  classes  by  the  burdens  of  this 
nineteenth  century  civilization  which  they 
bear  upon  their  shoulders.  To  the  Jap- 
anese, the  "  life  is  more  than  meat,"  it  is 
beauty  as  well ;  and  this  love  of  beauty  has 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  239 

upon  him  a  civilizing  and  refining  effect, 
and  makes  him  in  many  ways  the  superior 
of  the  American  day-laborer. 

The  peasants  and  farmers  of  Japan, 
thrifty  and  hard-working  as  they  are,  are 
not  by  any  means  a  prosperous  class.  As 
one  passes  into  the  country  districts  from 
the  large  cities,  there  seems  to  be  a  con- 
spicuous dearth  of  neat,  pleasant  homes, 
—  a  lack  of  the  comforts  and  necessities 
of  life  such  as  are  enjoyed  by  city  people. 
The  rich  farmers  are  scarce,  and  the  labor- 
ers in  the  rice-fields  hardly  earn,  from  days 
of  hardest  toil  with  the  rudest  imple- 
ments, the  little  that  will  provide  for  their 
families.  In  the  face  of  heavv  taxes,  the 
incessant  toil,  the  frequent  floods  of  late 
years,  and  the  threatening  famine,  one 
would  expect  the  poor  peasants  to  be  a 
most  discouraged  and  unhappy  class.  That 
all  this  toil  and  anxiety  does  wear  on  them  is 
no  doubt  true,  but  the  laborers  are  always 
ready  to  bear  submissively  whatever  comes, 
and  are  always  hopeful  and  prepared  to  en- 
joy life  again  in  happier  times.  The  charms 
of  the  city  tempt  them  sometimes  to  ex- 
change their  daily  labor  for  the  excitement 
of  life  as  jinrilcisha  men;  but  in  any  case 


240    JAPANESE  GIELS  AND   WOMEN. 

the}'  will  be  perfectly  independent,  and  ask 
no  man  for  their  daily  rations. 

Although  there  is  much  poverty,  there 
are  few  or  no  beggars  in  Japan,  for  both 
strong  and  weak  find  each  some  occupa- 
tion that  brings  the  little  pittance  required 
to  keep  soul  and  body  together,  and  gives 
to  all  enough  to  make  them  light-hearted, 
cheerful,  and  even  happy.  From  the  rich 
farmer,  whose  many  acres  yield  enough  to 
provide  for  a  home  of  luxury  quite  as  fine 
as  the  city  homes,  to  the  poor  little  vender 
of  sticks  of  candy,  around  whose  store  the 
children  flock  like  bees  with  their  rin  and 
sen,  all  seem  independent,  contented,  and 
satisfied  with  their  lot  in  life. 

The  religious  beliefs  of  old  Japan  are 
stronger  to-day  among  the  country  people 
than  among  the  dwellers  in  cities.  And 
they  are  still  willing  to  give  of  their  sub- 
stance for  the  aid  of  the  dying  faiths  to 
which  they  cling,  and  to  undertake  toil- 
some pilgrimages  to  obtain  some  longed- 
for  blessing  from  the  gods  whom  they 
serve.  A  great  Buddhist  temple  is  being 
built  in  Kyoto  to-day,  from  the  lofty  ceil- 
ing of  wThich  hangs  a  striking  proof  of  the 
devotion  of  some  of  the  peasant  women 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  241 

to  the  Buddhist  faith.  The  whole  tem- 
ple, with  its  immense  curved  roof,  its  vast 
proportions,  and  its  marvelous  wood  carv- 
ings, has  been  built  by  offerings  of  labor, 
money,  and  materials  made  by  the  faithful. 
The  great  timbers  were  given  and  brought 
to  the  spot  by  the  countrymen ;  and  the 
women,  wishing  to  have  some  part  in  the 
sacred  work,  cut  off  their  abundant  hair, 
a  beauty  perhaps  more  prized  by  the  Jap- 
anese women  than  by  those  of  other  coun- 
tries, and  from  the  material  thus  obtained 
they  twisted  immense  cables,  to  be  used  in 
drawing  the  timbers  from  the  mountains 
to  the  site  of  the  temple.  The  great  black 
cables  hang  in  the  unfinished  temple  to- 
day, a  sign  of  the  devotion  of  the  women 
who  spared  not  their  chief  ornament  in  the 
service  of  the  gods  in  whom  they  still  be- 
lieve. And  a  close  scrutiny  of  these  touch- 
ing offerings  shows  that  the  glossy  black 
locks  of  the  young  women  are  mingled 
with  the  white  hairs  of  those  who,  by  this 
sacrifice,  hope  to  make  sure  of  a  quick  and 
easy  departure  from  a  life  already  near  its 
close. 

All  along  the  Tokaido,  the  great  road 
from  Tokyo  to  Kyoto,  in  the  neighborhood 


242    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

of  some  holy  place,  or  in  the  district  around 
the  great  and  sacred  Fuji,  the  mountain  so 
much  beloved  and  honored  in  Japanese  art, 
will  be  seen  bands  of  pilgrims  slowly  walk- 
ing along  the  road,  their  worn  and  soiled 
white  garments  telling  of  many  days'  weary 
inarch.  Their  large  hats  shield  them  from 
the  sun  and  the  raiu,  and  the  pieces  of 
matting  slung  over  their  backs  serve  them 
for  beds  to  sleep  on,  when  they  take  shelter 
for  the  night  in  rude  huts.  The  way  up  the 
great  mountain  of  Fuji  is  lined  with  these 
pilgrims;  for  to  attain  its  summit,  and 
worship  there  the  rising  sun,  is  believed 
to  be  the  means  of  obtaining  some  special 
blessing.  Among  these  religious  devotees, 
in  costumes  not  unlike  those  of  the  men, 
under  the  same  large  hat  and  coarse  mat- 
ting, old  women  often  are  seen,  their  aged 
faces  belying  their  apparent  vigor  of  body, 
as  they  walk  along  through  miles  and  miles 
of  country,  jingling  their  bells  and  holding 
their  rosaries  until  they  reach  the  shrine, 
where  they  may  ask  some  special  blessing 
for  their  homes,  or  fulfill  some  vow  already 
made. 

Journeying  through  rural  Japan,  one  is 
impressed  by  the  important  part  played  by 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  243 

women  in  the  various  bread-winning  indus- 
tries. In  the  village  homes,  under  the 
heavily  thatched  roofs,  the  constant  strug- 
gle against  poverty  and  famine  will  not 
permit  the  women  to  hold  back,  but  they 
enter  bravely  into  all  the  work  of  the  men. 
In  the  rice-field  the  woman  works  side  by 
side  with  the  man,  standing  all  day  up  to 
her  knees  in  mud,  her  dress  tucked  up  and 
her  lower  limbs  encased  in  tight-fitting, 
blue  cotton  trousers,  planting,  transplant- 
ing, weeding,  and  turning  over  the  evil- 
smelling  mire,  only  to  be  distinguished  from 
her  husband  by  her  broader  belt  tied  in  a 
bow  behind.  In  mountain  regions  we  meet 
the  women  climbing  the  steep  mountain 
roads,  pruning-hook  in  hand,  after  wood  for 
winter  fires;  or  descending,  towards  night, 
carrying  a  load  that  a  donkey  need  not  be 
ashamed  of,  packed  on  a  frame  attached 
to  the  shoulders,  or  poised  lightly  upon  a 
straw  mat  upon  the  head.  There  is  one 
village  near  Kyoto,  Yase  by  name,  at  the 
base  of  Hiyei  Zan,  the  historic  Buddhist 
stronghold,  where  the  women  attain  a 
stature  and  muscular  development  quite 
unique  among  the  pigmy  population  of  the 
island  empire.     Strong,  jolly,  red-cheeked 


244    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

women  the}'  are,  showing  no  evidence  of 
the  shrinking  away  with  the  advance  of 
old  age  that  is  characteristic  of  most  of 
their  couutry women.  With  their  tucked- 
up  kimonos  and  bine  cotton  trousers,  they 
stride  up  and  down  the  mountain,  carrying 
the  heaviest  and  most  unwieldy  of  burdens 
as  lightly  and  easily  as  the  ordinary  woman 
carries  her  baby.  My  first  acquaintance 
with  them  was  during  a  camping  expedi- 
tion upon  the  sacred  mountain.  I  myself 
was  carried  up  the  ascent  by  two  small, 
nearly  naked,  finely  tattooed  and  moxa- 
scarred  men ;  but  my  baggage,  consisting 
of  two  closely  packed  hampers  as  large  as 
ordinary  steamer  trunks,  was  lifted  lightly 
to  the  heads  of  these  feminine  porters,  and, 
poised  on  little  straw  pads,  carried  easily 
up  the  narrow  trail,  made  doubly  difficult 
by  low-hanging  branches,  to  the  camp,  a 
distance  of  three  or  four  miles.  From 
among  these  women  of  Yase,  on  account 
of  their  remarkable  physical  development, 
have  been  chosen  frequently  the  nurses  for 
the  imperial  infants;  an  honor  which  the 
Yase  villagers  duly  appreciate,  and  which 
makes  them  bear  themselves  proudly  among 
their  less  favored  neighbors. 


PEASANT  WOMEN,  245 

In  other  parts  of  the  country,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Nikko,  for  instance,  the 
care  of  the  horses,  mild  little  pack-mares 
that  do  much  of  the  burden-bearing  in 
those  mountains,  is  mainly  in  the  hands  of 
the  women.  At  Nikko,  when  we  would  hir^ 
ponies  for  a  two  days'  expedition  to  Yu- 
moto,  a  little,  elderly  woman  was  the  per- 
son with  whom  our  bargains  were  made; 
and  a  close  bargainer  she  proved  to  be,  tak- 
ing every  advantage  that  lay  in  her  power. 
When  the  caravan  was  ready  to  start,  we 
found  that,  though  each  saddle-horse  had 
a  male  groom  in  attendance,  the  pack- 
ponies  on  which  our  baggage  was  carried 
were  led  by  pretty  little  country  girls  of 
twelve  or  fourteen,  their  bright  black  eyes 
and  red  cheeks  contrasting  pleasantly  with 
the  blue  handkerchiefs  that  adorned  their 
heads;  their  slender  limbs  encased  in  blue 
cotton,  and  only  their  red  sashes  giving  any 
hint  of  the  fact  that  they  belonged  to  the 
weaker  sex.  As  we  journeyed  up  the  rough 
mountain  roads,  the  little  girls  kept  along 
easily  with  the  rest  of  the  party;  leading 
their  meek,  shock-headed  beasts  up  the  slip- 
pery log  steps,  and  passing  an  occasional 
greeting  with  some  returning  pack  train, 


246     JAPANESE  GIELS  AND   WOMEN. 

in  which  the  soft  black  eyes  and  bits  of 
red  about  the  costume  of  the  little  grooms 
showed  that  they,  too,  were  mountain  maid- 
ens, returning  fresh  and  happy  after  a  two 
days'  tramp  through  the  rocky  passes. 
#  In  the  districts  where  the  silkworm  is 
raised,  and  the  silk  spun  and  woven,  the 
women  play  a  most  important  part  in  this 
productive  industry.  The  care  of  the 
worms  and  of  the  cocoons  falls  entirely 
upon  the  women,  as  well  as  the  spinning 
of  the  silk  and  the  weaving  of  the  cloth. 
It  is  almost  safe  to  say  that  this  largest 
and  most  productive  industry  of  Japan  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  women ;  and  it  is  to 
their  care  and  skill  that  the  silk  product 
of  the  islands  is  due.  In  the  silk  districts 
one  finds  the  woman  on  terms  of  equality 
with  the  man,  for  she  is  an  important  factor 
in  the  wealth-producing  power  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  is  thus  able  to  make  herself  felt 
as  she  cannot  when  her  work  is  inferior  to 
that  of  the  men.  As  a  farmer,  as  a  groom, 
or  as  a  porter,  a  woman  is  and  must  remain 
an  inferior,  but  in  the  care  of  the  silk- 
worms, and  all  the  tasks  that  belong  to  silk 
culture,  she  is  the  equal  of  the  stronger 
sex. 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  247 

Then,  again,  in  the  tea  districts,  the  tea 
plantations  are  filled  with  young  girls  and 
old  women,  their  long  sleeves  held  back  by 
a  band  over  the  shoulder,  and  a  blue  towel 
gracefully  fastened  over  their  heads  to 
keep  off  the  sun  and  the  dust.  They  pick 
busily  away  at  the  green,  tender  leaves, 
which  will  soon  be  heated  and  rolled  by 
strong  men  over  the  charcoal  fire.  The 
occupation  is  an  easy  one,  only  requiring 
care  in  the  selection  of  leaves  to  be  picked, 
and  can  be  performed  by  young  girls  and 
old  women,  who  gather  the  glossy  leaves 
in  their  big  baskets,  while  chatting  to 
each  other  over  the  gossip  and  news  of  the 
day. 

In  the  hotels,  both  in  the  country  and 
the  city,  women  play  an  important  part. 
The  attendants  are  usually  sweet-faced, 
prettily  dressed  girls,  and  frequently  the 
proprietor  of  the  hotel  is  a  woman.  My 
first  experience  of  a  Japanese  hotel  was  at 
Nara,  anciently  the  capital  of  Japan,  and 
now  a  place  of  resort  because  of  its  fine  old 
temples,  its  Dai  Butsu,  and  its  beautiful 
deer  park.  The  day's  ride  in  jinrihisha 
from  Osaka  had  brought  our  party  in  very 
tired,  only  to  find  that  the  hotel  to  which 


248    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

we  had  telegraphed  for  rooms  was  already 
filled  to  overflowing  by  a  daimio  and  his 
suite.  Not  a  room  could  be  obtained,  and 
we  were  at  last  obliged  to  walk  some  dis- 
tance, for  we  had  dismissed  our  tired  jin- 
rikislia  men,  to  a  hotel  in  the  village,  of 
which  we  knew  nothing.  What  with  fa- 
tigue and  disappointment,  we  were  not  pre- 
pared to  view  the  unknown  hotel  in  a  very 
rosy  light ;  and  when  our  guide  pointed  to 
a  small  gate  leading  into  a  minute,  damp 
courtyard,  we  were  quite  convinced  that 
the  hardships  of  travel  in  Japan  were  now 
about  to  begin;  but  disappointment  g*ave 
way  to  hope,  when  we  were  met  at  the 
door  by  a  buxom  landlady,  whose  smile 
was  in  itself  a  refreshment.  Although  we 
had  little  in  the  way  of  language  in  com- 
mon, she  made  us  feel  at  home  at  once, 
took  us  to  her  best  room,  sent  her  bloom- 
ing and  prettily  dressed  daughters  to  bring 
us  tea  and  whatever  other  refreshments 
the  mysterious  appetite  of  a  foreigner 
might  require,  and  altogether  behaved  to- 
ward us  in  such  motherlv  fashion  that  fa- 
tigue  and  gloom  departed  forthwith,  leav- 
ing us  refreshed  and  cheerful.  Soon  we 
began  to  feel  rested,  and  our  kind  friend, 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  249 

seeing  this,  took  us  upon  a  tour  around  the 
house,  in  which  room  after  room,  spotless, 
empty,  with  shining  woodwork  and  softest 
of  mats,  showed  the  good  housekeeping  of 
our  hostess.  A  little  garden  in  the  centre 
of  the  house,  with  dwarf  trees,  moss-cov- 
ered stones,  and  running  water,  gave  it  an 
air  of  coolness  on  the  hot  July  day  that  was 
almost  deceptive ;  and  the  spotless  wash- 
room, with  its  great  stone  sink,  its  polished 
brass  basins,  its  stone  well-curb,  half  in 
and  half  out  of  the  house,  was  cool  and 
clean  and  refreshing  merely  to  look  at.  A 
two  days5  stay  in  this  hotel  showed  that  the 
landlady  was  the  master  of  the  house.  Her 
husband  was  about  the  house  constantly,  as 
were  one  or  two  other  men,  but  they  all 
worked  under  the  direction  of  the  energetic 
head  of  affairs.  She  it  was  who  managed 
everything,  from  the  cooking  of  the  meals 
in  the  kitchen  to  the  filling  and  heating  of 
the  great  bath-tub  into  which  the  guests 
were  invited  to  enter  every  afternoon,  one 
after  the  other,  in  the  order  of  their  rank. 
On  the  second  night  of  my  stay,  at  a  late 
hour,  when  I  supposed  that  the  whole 
house  had  retired  to  rest,  I  crept  softly  out 
of  my  room  to  try  to  soothe  the  plaintive 


250     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

wails  of  my  dog,  who  was  complaining  bit- 
terly that  he  was  made  to  sleep  in  the 
wood-cellar  instead  of  in  his  mistress's 
room,  as  his  habit  had  always  been.  As  I 
stole  quietly  along,  fearing  lest  I  should 
arouse  the  sleeping  house,  I  heard  the  in- 
quiring voice  of  my  landlady  sound  from 
the  bath-room,  the  door  of  which  stood 
wide  open.  Afraid  that  she  would  think 
me  in  mischief  if  I  did  not  show  myself,  I 
went  to  the  door,  to  find  her,  after  her 
family  was  safely  stowed  away  for  the  night, 
taking  her  ease  in  the  great  tub  of  hot 
water,  and  so  preparing  herself  for  a  sound, 
if  short,  night's  sleep.  She  accepted  my 
murmured  Inn  (dog)  as  an  excuse,  and 
graciously  dismissed  me  with  a  smile,  and 
I  returned  to  my  room  feeling  safe  under 
the  vigilant  care  that  seemed  to  guard 
the  house  by  night  as  well  as  by  day.  I 
have  seen  many  Japanese  hotels  and  mauy 
careful  landladies  since,  but  no  one  among 
them  all  has  made  such  an  impression  as 
my  pleasant  hostess  at  Nara. 

Not  only  hotels,  but  little  tea-houses  all 
through  Japan,  form  openings  for  the  busi- 
ness abilities  of  women,  both  in  country 
and  city.   Wherever  you  go,  no  matter  how 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  251 

remote  the  district  or  how  rough  the  road, 
at  every  halting  point  you  find  a  tea-house. 
Sometimes  it  is  quite  an  extensive  restau- 
rant, with  several  rooms  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  guests,  and  a  regular  kitchen 
where  fairly  elaborate  cooking  can  be  done; 
sometimes  it  is  only  a  rough  shelter,  at  one 
end  of  which  water  is  kept  boiling  over  a 
charcoal  brazier,  while  at  the  other  end  a 
couple  of  seats,  covered  with  mats  or  a  scar- 
let blanket  or  two,  serve  as  resting-places 
for  the  patrons  of  the  establishment.  But 
whatever  the  place  is,  there  will  be  one 
woman  or  more  in  attendance;  and  if  yon 
sit  down  upon  the  mats,  you  w7ill  be  served 
at  once  with  tea,  and  later,  should  you  re- 
quire more,  with  whatever  the  establish- 
ment can  afford,  —  it  may  be  only  a  slice  of 
watermelon,  or  a  hard  pear;  it  maybe  eels 
on  rice,  vermicelli,  egg  soup,  or  a  regular 
dinner,  should  the  tea-house  be  one  of  the 
larger  and  more  elaborately  appointed  ones. 
When  the  feast  is  over,  the  refreshments 
you  have  especially  ordered  are  paid  for  in 
the  regular  way ;  but  for  the  tea  and  sweet- 
meats offered,  for  which  no  especial  charge 
is  made,  you  are  expected  to  leave  a  small 
sum  as  a  present.     In  the  less  aristocratic 


252     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

resting-places,  a  few  cents  for  each  person 
is  sufficient  to  leave  on  the  waiter  with  the 
empty  cups  of  tea,  for  which  loud  and  grate- 
ful thanks  will  be  shouted  out  to  the  re- 
tiring party. 

In  the  regular  inn,  the  chadai a  amounts 
to  several  dollars,  for  a  party  remaining 
any  time,  and  it  is  supposed  to  pay  for  all 
the  extra  services  and  attention  bestowed 
on  guests  by  the  polite  host  and  hostess 
and  the  servants  in  attendance.  The  cha- 
dai, done  up  neatly  in  paper,  with  the  words 
On  chadai  written  on  it,  is  given  with  as 
much  formality  as  any  present  in  Japan. 
The  guest  claps  his  hands  to  summon  the 
maid.  When  it  is  heard,  for  the  thin  pa- 
per walls  of  a  Japanese  house  let  through 
every  noise,  voices  from  all  sides  will  shout 
out  He1 -he1,  or  Hai,  which  means  that  you 
have  been  heard,  and  understood.  Pres- 
ently a  maid  will  softly  open  your  door, 
and  with  head  low  down  will  ask  what 
you  wish.     You  tell  her  to  summon  the 

1  Chadai  is,  literally,  "money  for  tea,"  and  is  equiva- 
lent to  our  tips  to  the  waiters  and  porters  at  hotels.  The 
chadai  varies  with  the  wealth  and  rank  of  the  guests,  the 
duration  of  the  stay,  and  the  attention  which  has  been 
bestowed.  On  is  the  honorific  placed  before  the  word  in 
writing, 


FEASANT  WOMEN.  253 

landlord.  In  a  few  moments  he  appears, 
and  you  push  the  chadai  to  him,  mak- 
ing some  conventional  self- depreciating 
speech,  as,  "You  have  done  a  great  deal 
for  our  comfort,  and  we  wish  to  give  you 
this  chadai  though  it  is  only  a  trifle.5' 
The  landlord,  with  every  expression  of  sur- 
prise, will  bow  down  to  the  ground  with 
thanks,  raising  the  small  package  to  his 
head  in  token  of  acceptance  and  gratitude, 
and  will  murmur  in  low  tones  how  little 
he  has  done  for  the  comfort  of  his  guests ; 
and  then,  the  self-depreciation  and  formal 
words  of  thanks  on  his  side  being  ended, 
he  will  finally  go  down  stairs  to  see  how 
much  he  has  gotten.  But,  whether  more 
or  less  than  he  had  expected,  nothing  but 
extreme  gratitude  and  politeness  appears 
on  his  face  as  he  presents  a  fan,  confec- 
tionery, or  some  trifle,  as  a  return  for  the 
chadai,  and  speeds  the  parting  guests  with 
his  lowest  bow  and  kindliest  smile,  after 
having  seen  to  every  want  that  could  be 
attended  to. 

Once,  at  Nikko,  I  started  with  a  friend 
for  a  morning  walk  to  a  place  described  in 
the  guide-book.  The  day  was  hot  and  the 
guide-book  hazy,  and  we  lost  the  road  to 


254    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

the  place  for  which  we  had  set  out,  but 
found  ourselves  at  last  in  a  beautiful  gar- 
den, with  a  pretty  lake  in  its  centre,  a  lit- 
tle red-lacquered  shrine  reflected  in  the 
lake,  and  a  tea-house  hospitably  open  at 
one  side.  The  teakettle  was  boiling  over 
the  little  charcoal  fire ;  melons,  eggs,  and 
various  unknown  comestibles  were  on  the 
little  counter ;  but  no  voice  bade  us  wel- 
come as  we  approached,  and  when  we  sat 
down  on  the  edge  of  the  piazza,  we  could 
see  no  one  within  the  house.  We  waited, 
however,  for  the  day  was  hot,  and  time  is 
not  worth  much  in  rural  Japan.  Pretty 
soon  a  small,  wizened  figure  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  the  distance,  hurrying  and 
talking  excitedly  as  it  came  near  enough 
to  see  two  foreign  ladies  seated  upon  the 
piazza.  Many  bows  and  profuse  apologies 
were  made  by  the  little  old  woman,  who 
seemed  to  be  the  solitary  occupant  of  the 
pretty  garden,  and  who  had  for  the  mo- 
ment deserted  her  post  to  do  the  day's  mar- 
keting in  the  neighboring  village.  The 
apologies  having  been  smilingly  received, 
the  old  lady  set  herself  to  the  task  of 
making  her  guests  comfortable.  First  she 
brought  two  tumblers  of  water,  cold  as  ice. 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  255 

from  the  spring  that  gushed  out  of  a  great 
rock  in  the  middle  of  the  little  lake.  Then 
she  retired  behind  a  screen  and  changed 
her  dress,  returning  speedily  to  bring  us 
tea.  Then  she  retreated  to  her  diminutive 
kitchen,  and  presently  came  back  smiling, 
bearing  eight  large  raw  potatoes  on  a  tray. 
These  she  presented  to  us  with  a  deep  bow, 
apparently  satisfied  that  she  had  at  last 
brought  us  something  we  would  be  sure 
to  like.  We  left  the  potatoes  behind  us 
when  we  went  away,  and  undoubtedly  the 
old  lady  is  wondering  still  over  the  mys- 
terious ways  of  the  foreigners,  as  we  are 
over  those  of  the  Japanese  tea-house  keep- 
ers. 

One  summer,  when  I  was  spending  a 
week  at  a  Japanese  hotel  at  quite  a  fash- 
ionable seaside  resort,  I  became  interested 
in  a  little  old  woman  who  visited  the  hotel 
daily,  carrying,  suspended  by  a  yoke  from 
her  shoulders,  two  baskets  of  fruit,  which 
she  sold  to  the  guests  of  the  hotel.  As  I 
was  on  the  ground  floor,  and  my  room  was, 
in  the  daytime,  absolutely  without  walls 
on  two  sides,  she  was  my  frequent  visitor, 
and,  for  the  sake  of  her  pleasant  ways 
and  cheerful  smiles,  I  bought  enough  hard 


256     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

pears  of  her  to  have  given  the  colic  to  an 
elephant.  One  day,  after  her  visit  to  me, 
as  I  was  sitting  upon  the  matted  and  roofed 
square  that  served  me  for  a  room,  my  eye 
wandered  idly  toward  the  bathing  beach, 
and,  under  the  slight  shelter  where  the 
bathers  were  in  the  habit  of  depositing 
their  sandals  and  towels,  I  spied  the  well- 
known  yoke  and  fruit  baskets,  as  well  as  a 
small  heap  of  blue  cotton  garments  that  I 
knew  to  be  the  clothing  of  the  little  fruit- 
vender.  She  had  evidently  taken  a  mo- 
ment when  trade  was  slack  to  enjoy  a  dip 
in  the  soft,  blue,  summer  sea.  Hardly  had 
I  made  up  my  mind  as  to  the  meaning  of 
the  fruit  baskets  and  the  clothing,  when 
our  little  friend  herself  emerged  from  the 
sea  and,  sitting  down  on  a  bench,  pro- 
ceeded to  rub  herself  off  with  the  small 
but  artistically  decorated  blue  towel  that 
every  peasant  in  Japan  has  always  with 
him,  however  lacking  he  may  be  in  all 
other  appurtenances  of  the  toilet.  As  she 
sat  there,  placidly  rubbing  away,  a  friend 
of  the  opposite  sex  made  his  appearance 
on  the  scene.  I  watched  to  see  what  she 
would  do,  for  the  Japanese  code  of  eti- 
quette is  quite  different  from  ours  in  such 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  257 

a  predicament.  She  continued  her  em- 
ployment until  he  was  quite  close,  showing 
no  unseemly  haste,  but  continuing*  her  pol- 
ishing off  in  the  same  leisurely  manner  in 
which  she  had  begun  it ;  then  at  the  proper 
moment  she  rose  from  her  seat,  bowed 
profoundly,  and  smilingly  exchanged  the 
greetings  proper  for  the  occasion,  both 
parties  apparently  unconscious  of  any  lack 
in  the  toilet  of  the  lady.  The  male  friend 
then  passed  on  about  his  business ;  the  lit- 
tle woman  completed  her  toilet  without 
further  interruptions,  shouldered  her  yoke, 
and  jogged  cheerfully  on  to  her  home  in 
the  little  village,  a  couple  of  miles  away. 

As  one  travels  through  rural  Japan  in 
summer  and  sees  the  half-naked  men,  wo- 
men, and  children  that  pour  out  from  every 
village  on  one's  route  and  surround  the 
kurunia  at  every  stopping  place,  one  some- 
times wonders  whether  there  is  in  the 
country  any  real  civilization,  whether  these 
half-naked  people  are  not  more  savage  than 
civilized;  but  when  one  finds  everywhere 
good  hotels,  scrupulous  cleauliness  in  all 
the  appointments  of  toilet  and  table,  polite 
and  careful  service,  honest  and  willing  per- 
formance of  labor  bargained  for,  together 


258     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

with  the  gentlest  and  pleasantest  of  man- 
ners, even  on  the  part  of  the  gaping  crowd 
that  shut  out  light  and  air  from  the  trav- 
eling foreigner  who  rests  for  a  moment  at 
the  village  inn,  one  is  forced  to  reconsider 
a  judgment  formed  only  upon  one  peculi- 
arity of  the  national  life,  and  to  conclude 
that  there  is  certainty  a  high  type  of  civili- 
zation in  Japan,  though  differing  in  many 
important  particulars  from  our  own.  A 
careful  study  of  the  Japanese  ideas  of  de- 
cency, and  frequent  conversation  with  re- 
fined and  intelligent  Japanese  ladies  upon 
this  subject,  has  led  me  to  the  following 
conclusion.  According  to  the  Japanese 
standard,  any  exposure  of  the  person  that 
is  merely  incidental  to  health,  cleanliness, 
or  convenience  in  doing  necessary  work, 
is  perfectly  modest  and  allowable ;  but  an 
exposure,  no  matter  how  slight,  that  is 
simply  for  show,  is  in  the  highest  degree 
indelicate.  In  illustration  of  the  first  part 
of  this  conclusion,  I  would  refer  to  the 
open  bath-houses,  the  naked  laborers,  the 
exposure  of  the  lower  limbs  in  wet  weather 
by  the  turning  up  of  the  kimono,  the  en- 
tirely nude  condition  of  the  country  chil- 
dren in  summer,  and  the  very  slight  cloth- 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  259 

ing  that  even  adults  regard  as  necessary 
about  the  house  or  in  the  country  during 
the  hot  season.  In  illustration  of  the  last 
part,  I  would  mention  the  horror  with 
which  many  Japanese  ladies  regard  that 
style  of  foreign  dress  which,  while  covering 
the  figure  completely,  reveals  every  detail 
of  the  form  above  the  waist,  and,  as  we  say, 
shows  off  to  advantage  a  pretty  figure.  To 
the  Japanese  mind  it  is  immodest  to  want 
to  show  off  a  pretty  figure.  As  for  the 
ball-room  costumes,  where  neck  and  arms 
are  freely  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  multi- 
tudes, the  Japanese  woman,  who  would 
with  entire  composure  take  her  bath  in 
the  presence  of  others,  would  be  in  an 
agony  of  shame  at  the  thought  of  appear* 
ing  in  public  in  a  costume  so  indecent  as 
that  worn  by  many  respectable  American 
and  European  women.  Our  judgment 
would  indeed  be  a  hasty  oue,  should  we 
conclude  that  the  sense  of  decency  is  want- 
ing in  the  Japanese  as  a  race,  or  that  the 
women  are  at  all  lacking  in  the  womanly 
instinct  of  modesty.  When  the  point  of 
view  from  which  they  regard  these  mat- 
ters is  once  obtained,  the  apparent  incon- 
sistencies and  incongruities  are  fully  ex- 


260    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

plained,  and  we  can  do  justice  to  our  Jap- 
anese sister  in  a  matter  in  regard  to  which 
she  is  too  often  cruelly  misjudged. 

There  seems  no  doubt  at  all  that  among 
the  peasantry  of  Japan  one  finds  the  wo- 
men who  have  the  most  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence. Among  this  class,  all  through 
the  country,  the  women,  though  hard- 
worked  and  possessing  few  comforts,  lead 
lives  of  intelligent,  independent  labor,  and 
have  in  the  family  positions  as  respected 
and  honored  as  those  held  by  women  in 
America.  Their  lives  are  fuller  and  hap- 
pier than  those  of  the  women  of  the  higher 
classes,  for  they  are  themselves  bread-win- 
ners, contributing  an  important  part  of 
the  family  revenue,  and  they  are  obeyed 
and  respected  accordingly.  The  Japanese 
lady,  at  her  marriage,  lays  aside  her  in- 
dependent existence  to  become  the  subor- 
dinate and  servant  of  her  husband  and 
parents-in-law,  and  her  face,  as  the  years 
go  by,  shows  how  much  she  has  given  up, 
how  completely  she  has  sacrificed  herself 
to  those  about  her.  The  Japanese  peasant 
woman,  when  she  marries,  works  side  by 
side  with  her  husband,  finds  life  full  of 
interest   outside   of  the  simple  household 


PEASANT  WOMEN.  261 

work,  and,  as  the  years  go  by,  her  face 
shows  more  individuality,  more  pleasure  in 
life,  less  suffering  and  disappointment,  than 
that  of  her  wealthier  and  less  hard-working 
sister. 


CHAPTER  X. 

LIFE   IN   THE   CITIES. 

The  great  cities  of  Japan  afford  remark- 
able opportunities  for  seeing  the  life  of  the 
common  people,  for  the  little  houses  and 
shops,  with  their  open  fronts,  reveal  the 
penetralia  in  a  way  not  known  in  our  more 
secluded  homes.  The  employment  of  the 
merchant  being  formerly  the  lowest  of  re- 
spectable callings,  one  does  not  find  even 
yet  in  Japan  many  great  stores  or  a  very 
high  standard  of  business  morality,  for  the 
business  of  the  country  was  left  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  were  too  stupid  or  too 
unambitious  to  raise  themselves  above  that 
social  class.  Hence  English  and  Ameri- 
can merchants,  who  only  see  Japan  from 
the  business  side,  continually  speak  of  the 
Japanese  as  dishonest,  tricky,  and  alto- 
gether unreliable,  and  greatly  prefer  to 
deal  with  the  Chinese,  who  have  much  of 
the  business  virtue  that  is  characteristic 
of  the  English  as  a  nation.     Only  within  a 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES,  263 

few  years  have  the  samurai,  or  indeed  any 
one  who  was  capable  of  figuring  in  any 
higher  occupation  in  life,  been  willing  to 
adopt  the  calling  of  the  merchant;  but 
many  of  the  abler  Japanese  of  to-day  have 
begun  to  see  that  trade  is  one  of  the  most 
important  factors  of  a  nation's  well-being, 
and  that  the  business  of  buying  and  sell- 
ing, if  wisely  and  honestly  done,  is  an  em- 
ployment that  nobody  need  be  ashamed  to 
enter.  There  are  in  Japan  a  few  great 
merchants  whose  word  may  be  trusted,  and 
whose  obligations  will  be  fulfilled  with  ab- 
solute honesty;  but  a  large  part  of  the 
buying  and  selling  is  still  in  the  hands  of 
mercantile  freebooters,  who  will  take  an 
advantage  wherever  it  is  possible  to  get 
one,  in  whose  morality  honesty  has  no 
place,  and  who  have  not  yet  discovered  the 
efficacy  of  that  virtue  simply  as  a  matter 
of  policy.  Their  trade,  conducted  in  a 
small  way  upon  small  means,  is  more  of 
the  nature  of  a  game,  in  which  one  person 
is  the  winner  and  the  other  the  loser,  than 
a  fair  exchange,  in  which  both  parties  ob- 
tain what  they  want.  It  is  the  mediaeval, 
not  the  modern  idea  of  business,  that  is 
still  held  among  Japanese  merchants.  With 


264     JAPANESE  GIELS  AND  WOMEN. 

them,  trade  is  a  warfare  between  buyer 
and  seller,  in  which  every  man  must  take 
all  possible  advantage  for  himself,  and  it 
is  the  lookout  of  the  other  party  if  he  is 
cheated. 

In  Tokyo,  the  greatest  and  most  modern- 
ized of  the  cities  of  the  empire,  the  shops 
are  not  the  large  city  stores  that  one  sees 
in  European  and  American  cities,  but  little 
open-fronted  rooms,  on  the  edge  of  which 
one  sits  to  make  one's  purchases,  while  the 
proprietor  smiles  and  bows  and  dickers; 
setting  his  price  by  the  style  of  his  cus- 
tomer's dress,  or  her  apparent  ignorance 
of  the  value  of  the  desired  article.  Some 
few  large  dry-goods  stores  there  are,  where 
prices  are  set  and  dickering  is  unneces- 
sary ;  and  in  the  Ttwankoba,  or  bazaars,  one 
may  buy  almost  anything  needed  by  Japa- 
nese of  all  classes,  from  house  furnishings 
to  foreign  hats,  at  prices  plainly  marked 
upon  them,  and  from  which  there  is  no 
variation.  But  one's  impression  of  the 
state  of  trade  in  Japan  is,  that  it  is  still 
in  a  very  primitive  and  undeveloped  condi- 
tion, and  is  surprisingly  behind  the  other 
parts  of  Japanese  civilization. 

The  shopping  of  the  ladies  of  the  large 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  265 

yasliikis  and  of  wealthy  families  is  clone 
mostly  in  the  home ;  for  all  the  stores  are 
willing  at  any  time,  on  receiving  an  order, 
to  send  up  a  clerk  with  a  bale  of  crepes, 
silks,  and  cottons  tied  to  his  back,  and  fre- 
quently towering  high  above  his  head  as 
he  walks,  making  him  look  like  the  pro- 
verbial ant  with  a  grain  of  wheat.  He 
sets  his  great  bundle  carefully  down  on 
the  floor,  opens  the  enormous  furushila,  or 
bundle  handkerchief,  in  which  it  is  envel- 
oped, and  takes  out  roll  after  roll  of  silk  or 
chintz,  neatly  done  up  in  paper  or  yellow 
cotton.  With  infinite  patience,  he  waits 
while  the  merits  of  each  piece  are  ex- 
amined and  discussed,  and  if  none  of  his 
stock  proves  satisfactory,  he  is  willing  to 
come  again  with  a  new  set  of  wares,  know- 
ing that  in  the  end  purchases  will  be  made 
sufficient  to  cover  all  his  trouble. 

The  less  aristocratic  people  are  content 
to  go  to  the  stores  themselves;  and  the 
business  streets  of  a  Japanese  city,  such  as 
the  Ginfca  in  Tokyo,  are  full  of  women, 
young  and  old,  as  well  as  merry  children, 
who  enjoy  the  life  and  bustle  of  the  stores. 
Like  all  things  else  in  Japan,  shopping 
takes   plenty   of    time.      At  Mitsui's,  the 


266    JAPANESE  GIELS  AND   WOMEN. 

largest  silk  store  in  Tokyo,  one  will  see 
crowds  of  clerks  sitting  upon  the  matted 
floors,  each  with  his  soroban,  or  adding 
machine,  by  his  side ;  and  innumerable 
small  boys,  who  rush  to  and  fro,  carrying 
armfuls  of  fabrics  to  the  different  clerks, 
or  picking  up  the  same  fabrics  after  the 
customer  who  has  called  for  them  has  de- 
parted. The  store  appears,  to  the  foreign 
eye,  to  be  simply  a  roofed  and  matted  plat- 
form upon  which  both  clerks  and  customers 
sit.  This  platform  is  screened  from  the 
street  by  dark  blue  cotton  curtains  or  awn- 
ings hung  from  the  low  projecting  eaves 
of  the  heavy  roof.  As  the  customers 
take  their  seats,  either  on  the  edge  of  the 
platform,  or,  if  they  have  come  on  an  ex- 
tended shopping  bout,  upon  the  straw  mat 
of  the  platform  itself,  a  small  boy  appears 
with  tea  for  the  party ;  an  obsequious  clerk 
greets  them  with  the  customary  saluta- 
tions of  welcome,  pushes  the  charcoal  bra- 
zier toward  them,  that  they  may  smoke, 
or  warm  their  hands,  before  proceeding  to 
business,  and  then  waits  expectantly  for 
the  name  of  the  goods  that  his  customers 
desire  to  see.  When  this  is  given,  the 
work  begins  ;  the  little  boys  are  summoned, 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  267 

and  are  soon  sent  off  to  the  great  fire-proof 
warehouse,  which  stands  with  heavy  doors 
thrown  open,  on  the  other  side  of  the  plat- 
form, away  from  the  street.  Through  the 
doorway  one  can  see  endless  piles  of  costly 
stuffs  stored  safely  away,  and  from  these 
piles  the  boys  select  the  required  fabric, 
loading  themselves  down  with  them  so  that 
they  can  barely  stagger  under  the  weights 
that  they  carry.  As  the  right  goods  are 
not  always  brought  the  first  time,  and  as, 
moreover,  there  is  an  endless  variety  in  the 
colors  and  patterns  in  even  one  kind  of 
silk,  there  is  always  plenty  of  time  for 
watching  the  busy  scene,  —  for  sipping 
tea,  or  smoking  a  few  whiffs  from  the  tinv 
pipes  that  so  many  Japanese,  both  men  and 
women,  carry  always  with  them.  When 
the  purchase  is  at  last  made,  there  is  still 
some  time  to  be  spent  by  the  customer  in 
waiting  until  the  clerk  has  made  an  ab- 
struse calculation  upon  his  soroban,  the 
transaction  has  been  entered  in  the  books 
of  the  firm,  and  a  long  bill  has  been  writ- 
ten and  stamped,  and  handed  to  her  with 
the  bundle.  During  her  stay  in  the  store, 
the  foreign  customer,  making  her  first 
visit  to  the  place,  is  frequently  startled  by 


268    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

loud  shouts  from  the  whole  staff  of  clerks 
and  small  boys,  —  outcries  so  sudden,  so 
simultaneous,  and  so  stentorian,  that  she 
cannot  rid  herself  of  the  idea  that  some- 
thing terrible  is  happening  every  time  that 
they  occur.  She  soon  learns,  however,  that 
these  manifestations  of  energy  are  but 
the  way  in  which  the  Japanese  merchant 
speeds  the  departing  purchaser,  aud  that 
the  apparently  inarticulate  shouts  are  but 
the  formal  phrase,  "  Thanks  for  your  con- 
tinued favors,5'  which  is  repeated  in  a  loud 
tone  by  every  employee  in  the  store  when- 
ever a  customer  departs.  When  she  her- 
self is  at  last  ready  to  leave,  a  chorus  of 
yells  arises,  this  time  for  her  benefit ;  and  as 
she  skips  into  the  jhiriMsha  aud  is  whirled 
away,  she  hears  continued  the  busy  hum 
of  voices,  the  clattering  of  sorobans,  the 
thumping  of  the  bare  feet  of  the  heavily 
la'den  boys,  and  the  loud  shouts  of  thanks 
with  which  departing  guests  are  honored. 
There  is  less  pomp  and  circumstance 
about  the  smaller  stores,  for  all  the  goods 
are  within  easy  reach,  and  the  shops  for 
household  utensils  and  chinaware  seem  to 
have  nearly  the  whole  stock  in  trade  piled 
up  in  front,  or  even  in  the  street  itself. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  269 

Many  such  little  places  are  the  homes  of 
the  people  who  keep  them.  And  at  the 
back  are  rooms,  which  serve  for  dwelling 
rooms,  opening  upon  well-kept  gardenso 
The  whole  work  of  the  store  is  often  at- 
tended to  by  the  proprietor,  assisted  by  his 
wife  and  family,  and  perhaps  one  or  two 
apprentices.  Each  of  the  workers,  in  turn, 
takes  an  occasional  holiday,  for  there  is 
no  day  in  the  Japanese  calendar  when  the 
shops  are  all  closed ;  and  even  New  Year's 
Day,  the  great  festival  of  the  year,  finds 
most  of  the  stores  open.  Yet  the  dwellers 
in  these  little  homes,  living  almost  in  the 
street,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  bustle  and 
crowd  and  dust  of  Tokyo,  have  still  time 
to  enjoy  their  holidays  and  their  little  gar- 
dens, and  have  more  pleasure  and  less  hard 
work  than  those  under  similar  circum- 
stances in  our  own  country. 

The  stranger  visiting  any  of  the  great 
Japanese  cities  is  surprised  by  the  lack  of 
large  stores  and  manufactories,  and  often 
wonders  where  the  beautiful  lacquer  work 
and  porcelains  are  made,  and  where  the 
gay  silks  and  crepes  are  woven.  There 
are  no  large  establishments  where  such 
things  are  turned  out  by  wholesale.     The 


270    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

delicate  vases,  the  bronzes,  and  the  silks 
are  often  made  in  humblest  homes,  the 
work  cf  one  or  two  laborers  with  rudest 
tools.  There  are  no  great  manufactories 
to  be  seen,  and  the  bane  of  so  many  cities, 
the  polluting  factory  smoke,  never  rises 
over  the  cities  of  Japan.  The  hard,  con- 
fining factory  life,  with  its  never-ceasing 
roar  of  machinery,  bewildering  the  minds 
and  intellects  of  the  men  who  come  under 
its  deadening  influences,  until  they  become 
scarcely  more  than  machines  themselves, 
is  a  thing  as  yet  almost  unknown  in  Japan. 
The  life  of  the  jinriMsha  man  even,  hard 
and  comfortless  as  it  may  seem  to  run  all 
day  like  a  horse  through  the  crowded  city 
streets,  is  one  that  keeps  him  in  the  fresh 
air,  under  the  open  sky,  and  quickens  his 
powers  both  of  body  and  mind.  To  the 
poor  in  Japanese  cities  is  never  denied  the 
fresh  air  and  sunshine,  green  trees  and 
grass;  and  the  beautiful  parks  and  gardens 
are  found  everywhere,  for  the  enjoyment  of 
even  the  meanest  and  lowest. 

On  certain  days  in  the  month,  in  differ- 
ent sections  of  the  city,  are  held  night  fes- 
tivals near  temples,  and  many  shopkeepers 
take  the  opportunity   to  erect  temporary 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  271 

booths,  in  which  they  so  arrange  their 
wares  as  to  tempt  the  passers-by  as  they 
go  to  and  fro.  Very  often  there  is  a  mag- 
nificent display  of  young  trees,  potted 
plants,  and  flowers,  brought  in  from  the 
country  and  ranged  on  both  sides  of  the 
street.  Here  the  gardeners  make  lively 
sales,  as  the  displays  are  often  fine  in 
themselves,  and  show  to  a  special  advan- 
tage in  the  flaring  torchlight.  The  enger 
venders,  who  do  all  they  can  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  crowd  to  their  wares,  make 
many  good  bargains.  The  purchase  re- 
quires skill  on  both  sides,  for  flower  men 
are  proverbial  in  their  high  charges,  ask- 
ing often  five  and  ten  times  the  real  value 
of  a  plant,  but  coming  down  in  price  al- 
most immediately  on  remonstrance.  You 
ask  the  price  of  a  dwarf  wistaria  growing 
in  a  pot.  The  man  answers  at  once,  "  Two 
dollars. "  "  Two  dollars  !  "  you  answer  in 
surprise,  "  it  is  not  worth  more  than  thirty 
or  forty  cents."  "  Seventy-five,  then,"  he 
will  respond ;  and  thus  the  buyer  and 
seller  approach  nearer  in  price,  until  the 
bargain  is  struck  somewhere  near  the  first 
price  offered.  Price  another  plant  and 
there  would  be  the  same  process  to  go  over 


272     JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

again  ;  but  as  the  evening*  passes,  prices  go 
lower  and  lower,  for  the  distances  that  the 
plants  have  been  brought  are  great,  and 
the  labor  of  loading  up  and  carrying  back 
the  heavy  pots  is  a  weary  one,  and  when 
the  last  customer  has  departed  the  mer- 
chants must  work  late  into  the  night  to 
get  their  wares  safely  home  again. 

But  beside  the  flower  shows,  there  are 
long  rows  of  booths,  which,  with  the  many 
visitors  who  throng  the  streets,  make  a  gay 
and  lively  scene.  So  dense  is  the  crowd 
that  it  is  with  difficulty  one  can  push 
through  on  foot  or  in  jinriMsha.  The 
darkness  is  illuminated  by  torches,  whose 
weird  flames  flare  and  smoke  in  the  wind, 
and  shine  down  upon  the  little  sheds  which 
line  both  sides  of  the  road,  and  contain 
so  tempting  a  display  of  cheap  toys  and 
trinkets  that  not  only  the  children,  but 
their  elders,  are  attracted  by  them.  Some 
of  the  booths  are  devoted  to  dolls ;  others 
to  toys  of  various  kinds ;  still  others  to 
birds  in  cages,  goldfish  in  globes,  queer 
chirping  insects  in  wicker  baskets,  pretty 
ornaments  for  the  hair,  fans,  candies,  and 
cakes  of  all  sorts,  roasted  beans  and  pea- 
nuts, and  other  things    too  numerous  to 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  273 

mention.  The  long  line  of  stalls  ends  with 
booths,  or  tents,  in  which  shows  of  dan- 
cing, jugglery,  educated  animals,  and  mon- 
strosities, natural  or  artificial,  may  be  seen 
for  the  moderate  admission  fee  of  two 
sen.  Each  of  these  shows  is  well  adver- 
tised by  the  beating  of  drums,  by  the  shout- 
ing of  doorkeepers,  by  wonderful  pictures 
on  the  outside  to  entice  the  passer-by,  or 
even  by  an  occasional  brief  lifting  of  the 
curtains  which  veil  the  scene  from  the 
crowd  without,  just  long  enough  to  af- 
ford a  tantalizing  glimpse  of  the  wonders 
within.  Great  is  the  fascination  to  the 
children  in  all  these  things,  and  the  little 
feet  are  never  weary  until  the  last  booth 
is  passed,  and  the  quiet  of  neighboring 
streets,  lighted  only  by  wandering  lan- 
terns, strikes  the  home- returning  party  by 
its  contrast  with  the  light  and  noise  of  the 
festival.  The  supposed  object  of  the  expe- 
dition, the  visit  to  the  temple,  has  occupied 
but  a  small  share  of  time  and  attention, 
and  the  little  hands  are  filled  with  the 
amusing  toys  and  trifles  bought,  and  the 
little  minds  with  the  merry  sights  seen. 
Nor  are  those  who  remain  at  home  forgot- 
ten, but  the  pleasure  seekers  who  visit  the 


274    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

fair  carry  away  with  them  little  gifts  for 
each  member  of  the  family,  and  the  0  mi- 
dge, or  present  given  on  the  return,  is  a 
regular  institution  of  Japanese  home  life.1 

By  ten  o'clock,  when  the  crowds  have 
dispersed  and  the  purchasers  have  all  gone 
home  and  gone  to  bed,  the  busy  booth-keep- 
ers take  down  their  stalls,  pack  up  their 
wares,  and  disappear,  leaving  no  trace  of  the 
night's  gayeties  to  greet  the  morning  sun. 

Beside  these  evening  shows,  which  oc- 
cur monthly  or  oftener,  there  are  also  great 
festivals  of  the  various  gods,  some  cele- 
brated annually,  others  at  intervals  of  some 
years.  These  matsuri  last  for  several  days, 
and  during  that  time  the  quarter  of  the 
city  in  which  they  occur  seems  entirely 
given  over  to  festivity.  The  streets  are 
gayly  decorated  with  flags,  and  bright  lan- 
terns— -all  alike  in  design  and  color  —  are 
hung  in  rows  from  the  low  eaves  of  the 
houses.  Young  bamboo-trees  set  along  the 
street,  and  decorated  with  bits  of  bright- 
colored  tissue  paper,  are  a  frequent  and  ef- 

1  O  miage  must  be  given,  not  only  on  the  return  from 
an  evening  of  pleasure,  but  also  on  the  return  from  a  jour- 
ney or  pleasure  trip  of  any  kind.  As  a  rule,  the  longer 
the  absence,  the  finer  and  more  costly  must  be  the  pre- 
sents given  on  returning. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  275 

fective  accompaniment  of  these  festivals, 
and  here  and  there  throughout  the  dis- 
trict are  set  up  high  stands,  on  the  tops  of 
which  musicians  with  squeaky  flutes,  and 
drums  of  varying  calibre,  keep  up  a  din 
more  festive  than  harmonious.  It  takes 
a  day  or  two  for  the  rejoicings  to  get  fully 
under  way,  but  by  the  second  or  third  day 
the  fun  is  at  its  height,  and  the  streets 
are  thronged  with  merrymakers.  A  great 
deal  of  labor  and  strength,  as  well  as  inge- 
nuity, is  spent  in  the  construction  of  enor- 
mous floats,  or  dashi,  lofty  platforms  of 
two  stories,  either  set  on  wheels  and  drawn 
by  black  bullocks  or  crowds  of  shouting 
men,  or  carried  by  poles  on  men's  shoul- 
ders. Upon  the  first  floor  of  these  great 
floats  is  usually  a  company  of  dancers,  or 
mummers,  who  dance,  attitudinize,  or  make 
faces  for  the  amusement  of  the  crowds 
that  gather  along  their  route;  while  up 
above,  an  effigy  of  some  hero  in  Japanese 
history,  or  the  figure  of  some  animal  or 
monster,  looks  down  unmoved  upon  the  ab- 
surdities below.  Each  dashi  is  attended, 
not  only  by  the  men  who  draw  it,  but  by 
companies  of  others  in  some  uniform  cos- 
tume; and  sometimes  graceful  professional 


276     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

dancing-girls  are  hired  to  march  in  the 
matsuri  procession,  or  to  dance  upon  the 
lofty  dashi.  At  the  time  of  the  festivities 
which  accompanied  the  promulgation  of 
the  Constitution,  three  days  of  jollification 
were  held  in  Tokyo,  days  of  such  universal 
fun  and  frolic  that  it  will  be  known  among 
the  common  people,  to  all  succeeding  gen- 
erations, as  the  "  Emperor's  big  matsuri" 
Every  quarter  of  the  city  vied  with  every 
other  in  the  production  of  gorgeous  dashi, 
and  the  streets  were  gay  with  every  con- 
ceivable variety  of  decoration,  from  the  lit- 
tle red-and-white  paper  lanterns,  that  even 
the  poorest  hung  before  their  houses,  to 
the  great  evergreen  arches,  set  with  elec- 
tric lights,  with  which  the  great  business 
streets  were  spanned  thickly  from  end  to 
end.  An  evening  walk  through  one  of 
these  thoroughfares  was  a  sight  to  be  re- 
membered for  a  lifetime.  The  magnificent 
dashi  represented  all  manner  of  quaint 
conceits.  A  great  bivalve  drawrn  by  yell- 
ing crowds  —  which  halted  occasionally  — 
opened  and  displayed  between  its  shells 
a  group  of  beautifully  dressed  girls,  who 
danced  one  of  the  pantomimic  dances  of 
the  country,  accompanied  by  the  twanging 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  211 

melodies  of  the  samisen.  Then  slowly  the 
great  shell  closed,  once  more  the  shout- 
ing1 crowds  seized  hold  of  the  straining 
ropes,  and  the  great  bivalve  with  its  fair 
freight  was  drawn  slowly  along  through  the 
gayly  illuminated  streets.  Jiminu  Tenno 
and  other  heroes  of  Japanese  legend  or  his- 
tory, each  upon  its  lofty  platform,  a  white 
elephant,  and  countless  other  subjects  were 
represented  in  the  festival  cars  sent  forth 
by  all  the  districts  of  the  city  to  celebrate 
the  great  event. 

Upon  such  festival  occasions  the  shop- 
keeper does  not  put  up  his  shutters  and 
leave  his  place  of  business,  but  the  open 
shop-fronts  add  much  to  the  gay  appear- 
ance of  the  street.  There  are  no  signs  of 
business  about,  but  the  floor  of  the  shop  is 
covered  with  bright-red  blankets ;  magnifi- 
cent gilded  screens  form  an  imposing  back- 
ground to  the  little  room ;  and  seated  on 
the  floor  are  the  shopkeeper,  his  family, 
and  guests,  eating,  drinking  tea,  and  smok- 
ing, as  cosily  as  if  all  the  world  and  his 
wife  were  not  gazing  upon  the  gay  and 
homelike  interior.  Sometimes  companies 
of  dancers,  or  other  entertainments  fur- 
nished by  the  wealthier  shopkeepers,  will 


278    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

attract  gaping  crowds,  who  watch  and  block 
the  street  until  the  advance  guard  of  some 
approaching  dashi  scatters  them  for  a  mo- 
ment. 

Iii  Japan,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
the  country  people  are  rather  looked  down 
upon  by  the  dwellers  in  the  city  for  their 
slowness  of  intellect,  dowdiness  of  dress, 
and  boorishness  of  manners ;  while  the 
country  people  make  fun  of  the  fads  and 
fashions  of  the  city,  and  rejoice  that  they 
are  not  themselves  the  slaves  of  novelty, 
and  especially  of  the  foreign  innovations 
that  play  so  prominent  a  part  in  Japanese 
city  life  to-day.  "  The  frog  in  the  well 
knows  not  the  great  ocean,"  is  the  snub 
with  which  the  Japanese  cockney  sets  down 
Farmer  Rice-Field's  expressions  of  opinion  ; 
wrhile  the  conservative  countryman  laughs 
at  the  foreign  affectations  of  the  Tokyo  man, 
and  returns  to  his  village  with  tales  of  the 
cookery  of  the  capital:  so  extravagant  is 
it  that  sugar  is  used  in  everything ;  it  is 
even  rumored  that  the  Tokyoites  put  sugar 
in  their  tea. 

But  while  the  country  laughs  and  won- 
ders at  the  city,  nevertheless,  in  Japan  as 
elsewhere,  there  is  a  constant  crowding  of 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES  279 

the  young  life  of  the  country  into  the  live- 
lier and  more  entertaining  city.  Tokyo  es- 
pecially is  the  goal  of  every  young  coun- 
tryman's ambition,  and  thither  he  goes  to 
seek  his  fortune,  finding,  alas !  too  often, 
only  the  hard  lot  of  the  jinrihisha  man, 
instead  of  the  wealth  and  power  that  his 
country  dreams  had  shown  him. 

The  lower  class  women  of  the  cities  are 
in  many  respects  like  their  sisters  of  the 
rural  districts,  except  that  they  have  less 
freedom  than  the  country  women  in  what 
the  economists  call  "direct  production." 
The  wells  and  water  tanks  that  stand  at 
convenient  distances  along  the  streets  of 
Tokyo  are  frequently  surrounded  by  crowds 
of  women,  drawing  water,  washing  rice, 
and  chattering  merrily  over  their  occupa- 
tions. They  meet  and  exchange  ideas 
freely  with  each  other  and  with  the  men, 
but  they  have  not  the  diversity  of  labor 
that  country  life  affords,  confining  them- 
selves more  closely  to  indoor  and  domestic 
work,  and  leaving  the  bread-winning  more 
entirely  to  the  men. 

There  are,  however,  occupations  in  the 
city  for  women,  by  which  they  may  support 
themselves  or  their  families.    A  good  hair- 


280    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

dresser  may  make  a  handsome  living";  in- 
deed, she  does  so  well  that  it  is  proverbial 
among  the  Japanese  that  a  hair-dresser's 
husband  has  nothing  to  do.  Though  pro- 
fessional tailors  are  mostly  men,  many  wo- 
men earn  a  small  pittance  in  taking  in 
sewing  and  in  giving  sewing  lessons ;  and 
as  instructors  in  the  ceremonial  tea,  eti- 
quette, music,  painting,  and  flower  ar- 
rangement, many  women  of  the  old  school 
are  able  to  earn  an  independence,  though 
none  of  these  occupations  are  confined  to 
the  women  alone. 

The  business  of  hotel-keeping  we  have 
referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  and  it 
is  a  well-known  fact  that  unless  a  hotel- 
keeper  has  a  capable  wife,  his  business  will 
not  succeed.  At  present,  all  over  Tokyo, 
small  restaurants,  where  food  is  served  in 
the  foreign  style,  are  springing  up,  and 
these  are  usually  conducted  by  a  man  and 
his  wife  who  have  at  some  time  served  as 
cook  and  waitress  in  a  foreign  family,  and 
who  conduct  the  business  cooperatively  and 
on  terms  of  good-fellowship  and  equality. 
In  these  little  eating-houses,  where  a  well- 
cooked  foreign  dinner  of  from  three  to  six 
courses  is  served  for  the  moderate  sum  of 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  281 

thirty  or  forty  cents,  the  man  usually  does 
the  cooking,  the  woman  the  serving  and 
handling  of  the  money,  until  the  time  ar- 
rives when  the  profits  of  the  business  are 
sufficient  to  justify  the  hiring  of  more  help. 
When  this  time  comes,  the  labor  is  re- 
distributed, the  woman  frequently  taking 
upon  herself  the  reception  of  the  guests 
and  the  keeping  of  the  accounts,  while  the 
hired  help  waits  on  the  tables. 

One  important  calling,  in  the  eyes  of 
many  persons,  especially  those  of  the  lower 
classes,  is  that  of  fortune -telling;  and 
these  guides  in  all  matters  of  life,  both 
great  and  small,  are  to  be  found  in  every 
section  of  the  city.  They  are  consulted  on 
every  important  step  by  believing  ones  of 
all  classes.  An  impending  marriage,  an 
illness,  the  loss  of  any  valuable  article,  a 
journey  about  to  be  taken,  —  these  are  all 
subjects  for  the  fortune-teller.  He  tells  the 
right  day  of  marriage,  and  says  whether 
the  fates  of  the  two  parties  will  combine 
well ;  gives  clues  to  the  causes  of  sudden 
illness,  and  information  as  to  what  has 
become  of  lost  articles,  and  whether  they 
will  be  recovered  or  not.  Warned  thus  by 
the  fortune-teller  against  evils  that  may 


282     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

happen,  many  ingenious  expedients  are 
resorted  to,  to  avoid  the  ill  foretold. 

A  man  and  his  family  were  about  to 
move  from  their  residence  to  another  part 
of  the  city.  They  sent  to  know  if  the 
fates  were  propitious  to  the  change  for  all 
the  family.  The  day  and  year  of  birth  of 
each  was  told,  and  then  the  fortune-teller 
hunted  up  the  various  signs,  and  sent  word 
that  the  direction  of  the  new  home  was 
excellent  for  the  good  luck  of  the  family 
as  a  whole,  and  the  move  a  good  one  for 
each  member  of  it  except  one  of  the  sons; 
the  next  year  the  same  move  would  be  bad 
for  the  father.  As  the  family  could  not 
wait  two  years  before  moving,  it  was  de- 
cided that  the  change  of  residence  should 
be  made  at  once,  but  that  the  son  should 
live  with  his  uncle  until  the  next  year. 
The  uncle's  home  was,  however,  incon- 
veniently remote,  and  so  the  young  man 
stayed  as  a  visitor  at  his  father's  house  for 
the  remaining  months  of  the  year,  after 
wrhich  he  became  once  more  a  member  of 
the  household.  Thus  the  inconvenience 
and  the  evil  were  both  avoided. 

Another  story  comes  to  my  mind  now  of 
a  dear  old  lady,  the  Go  Inkyo  Saina  of  a 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  283 

house  of  high  rank,  who  late  in  life  came 
to  Tokyo  to  live  with  her  brother  and  his 
young  and  somewhat  foreiguized  wTife.  The 
brother  himself,  while  not  a  Christian,  had 
little  belief  in  the  old  superstitions  of  his 
people ;  his  wife  was  a  professing  Chris- 
tian.    Soon  after  the  old  lady's  arrival  in 
Tokyo,  her  sister-in-law  fell  ill,  and  before 
she  had  recovered  her  strength  the  chil- 
dren, one  after  another,  came  down  with 
various  diseases,  which,  though  in  no  case 
fatal,  kept  the  family  in  a  state  of  anxiety 
for  more  than  a  year.     The  old  lady  was 
quite  sure  that  there  was  some  witchcraft 
or  art-magic  at  work  among  her  dear  ones, 
and,  after  consulting  the  servants  (for  she 
knew  that  she  could  expect  no  sympathy  in 
her  plans  from   either  her   brother  or  his 
wife),  she  betook  herself  to  a  fortune-teller 
to  discover  through  his   means  the  causes 
of  the  illness  in  the  family.     The  fortune- 
teller revealed  to  her  the   fact   that   two 
occult  forces  w7ere  at  work  bringing  evil 
upon  the  house.      One  was  the  evil  spirit 
of  a  spring  or  well   that  had  been  choked 
with  stones,  or  otherwise  obstructed  in  its 
flow,  and  that  chose  this  way  of  bringing 
its  afflictions  to  the   attention  of  mortals. 


284    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

The  other  was  the  spirit  of  a  horse  that 
had  once  belonged  in  the  family,  and  that 
after  death  revenged  itself  upon  its  former 
masters  for  the  hard  service  wherewith 
it  had  been  made  to  serve.  The  only  way 
in  which  these  two  powers  could  be  ap- 
peased would  be  by  finding  the  well,  and 
removing  the  obstructions  that  choked  it, 
and  by  erecting  an  image  of  the  horse  and 
offering  to  it  cakes  and  other  meat-offer- 
ings. The  fortune-teller  hinted,  moreover, 
that  for  a  consideration  he  might  be  able 
to  afford  material  aid  in  the  search  for  the 
wrell. 

At  this  information  Go  Inkyo  Saina  was 
much  perturbed,  for  further  aid  for  her 
afflicted  family  seemed  to  require  the  use 
of  money,  and  of  that  commodity  she  had 
very  little,  being  mainly  dependent  upon 
her  brother  for  support.  She  returned  to 
her  home  and  consulted  the  servants  upon 
the  matter;  but  though  they  quite  agreed 
with  her  that  something  should  be  done, 
they  had  little  capital  to  invest  in  the  en- 
terprises suggested  by  the  fortune-teller. 
At  last,  the  old  lady,  went  to  her  brother, 
but  he  only  laughed  at  her  well-meant  at- 
tempts to  help  his  family,  and  refused  to 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  285 

give  her  money  for  such  a  purpose.  She 
retired  discouraged,  but,  urged  by  the  ser- 
vants, she  decided  to  make  a  last  appeal, 
this  time  to  her  sister-in-law,  who  must 
surely  be  moved  by  the  evil  that  was  threat- 
ening herself  and  her  children.  Taking 
some  of  the  head  servants  with  her,  she 
went  to  her  sister  and  presented  the  case. 
This  wTas  her  last  resort,  and  she  clung  to 
her  forlorn  hope  longer  than  many  would 
have  done,  the  servants  adding  their  argu- 
ments to  her  impassioned  appeals,  only  to 
find  out  after  all  that  the  steadfast  sister 
could  not  be  moved,  and  that  she  would 
not  propitiate  the  horse's  spirit,  or  allow 
money  to  be  used  for  such  a  purpose.  She 
gave  it  up  then,  and  sat  down  to  await  the 
fate  of  her  doomed  house,  doubtless  won- 
dering much  and  sighing  often  over  the 
foolish  skepticism  of  her  near  relatives, 
and  wishing  that  the  rationalistic  tenden- 
cies of  the  time  would  take  a  less  danger- 
ous form  than  the  neglecting  of  the  plainest 
precautions  for  life  and  health.  The  fate 
has  not  yet  come,  and  now  at  last  Go  In- 
kyo  Sama  seems  to  have  resigned  herself 
to  the  belief  that  it  has  been  averted  from 
the  heads  of  the  dear  ones  by  a  power  un- 
known to  the  fortune-teller. 


286    JAPANESE  GIELS  AND   WOMEN. 

Beside  these  calling's,  there  are  other 
employments  which  are  not  regarded  as 
wholly  respectable  by  either  Japanese  or 
foreigners.  The  geisha  \ja,  or  establish- 
ments where  dancing-girls  are  trained,  and 
let  out  by  the  day  or  evening  to  tea-houses 
or  private  parties,  are  usually  managed  by 
women.  At  these  establishments  little 
girls  are  taken,  sometimes  by  contract  with 
their  parents,  sometimes  adopted  by  the 
proprietors  of  the  house,  and  from  very 
early  youth  are  trained  not  only  in  the  art 
of  dancing,  but  are  taught  singing  and 
samisen- playing,  all  the  etiquette  of  serv- 
ing and  entertaining  guests,  and  whatever 
else  goes  to  make  a  girl  charming  to  the 
opposite  sex.  When  thoroughly  taught, 
they  form  a  valuable  investment,  and  well 
repay  the  labor  spent  upon  them,  for  a 
popular  geisha  commands  a  good  price 
everywhere,  and  has  her  time  overcrowded 
with  engagements.  A  Japanese  entertain- 
ment is  hardly  regarded  as  complete  with- 
out geishas  in  attendance,  and  their  dan- 
cing, music,  and  graceful  service  at  supper 
form  a  charming  addition  to  an  evening 
of  enjoyment  at  a  tea-house.  It  is  these 
geishas,  too,  who  at  matsuri  are  hired  to 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES,  287 

march  in  quaint  uniforms  in  the  proces- 
sion, or,  borne  aloft  on  great  dashi,  dance 
for  the  benefit  of  the  admiring  crowds. 

The  Japanese  dances  are  charmingly 
graceful  and  modest ;  the  swaying  of  the 
body  and  limbs,  the  artistic  management 
of  the  flowing  draperies,  the  variety  of 
themes  and  costumes  of  the  different 
dances,  all  go  to  make  an  entertainment 
by  geishas  one  of  the  pleasantest  of  Jap- 
anese enjoyments.  Sometimes,  in  scarlet 
and  yellow  robes,  the  dainty  maidens  imi- 
tate, with  their  supple  bodies,  the  dance  of 
the  maple  leaves  as  they  are  driven  hither 
and  thither  in  the  autumn  wind  ;  some- 
times, with  tueked-up  Mmonos  and  jaunty 
red  petticoats,  they  play  the  part  of  little 
country  girls  carrying  their  eggs  to  market 
in  the  neighboring  village.  Again,  clad  in 
armor,  they  simulate  the  warlike  gestures 
and  martial  stamp  of  some  of  the  old-time 
heroes ;  or,  with  whitened  faces  and  hoary 
locks,  they  perform  with  rake  and  broom 
the  dance  of  the  good  old  man  and  old 
woman  who  play  so  prominent  a  part  in 
Japanese  pictures.  And  then,  when  the 
dance  is  over,  and  all  are  bewitched  with 
their  grace  and  beauty,   they  descend   to 


288    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

the  supper-room  and  ply  their  temporary 
employers  with  the  sake  bottle,  laughing 
and  jesting  the  while,  until  there  is  little 
wonder  if  the  young  men  at  the  entertain- 
ment drink  more  than  is  good  for  them, 
and  leave  the  tea-house  at  last  thoroughly 
tipsy,  and  enslaved  by  the  bright  eyes  and 
merry  wits  of  some  of  the  Hebes  who  have 
beguiled  them  through  the  evening. 

The  geishas  unfortunately,  though  fair, 
are  frail.  In  their  system  of  education, 
manners  stand  higher  than  morals,  and 
many  a  geisha  gladly  leaves  the  dancing  in 
the  tea-houses  to  become  the  concubine  of 
some  wealthy  Japanese  or  foreigner,  think- 
ing none  the  worse  of  herself  for  such  a 
business  arrangement,  and  going  cheer- 
fully back  to  her  regular  work,  should 
her  contract  be  unexpectedly  ended.  The 
geisha  is  not  necessarily  bad,  but  there  is 
in  her  life  much  temptation  to  evil,  and 
little  stimulus  to  do  right,  so  that,  where 
one  lives  blameless,  many  go  wrong,  and 
drop  below  the  margin  of  respectability  al- 
together. Yet  so  fascinating,  bright,  and 
lively  are  these  geishas  that  many  of  them 
have  been  taken  by  men  of  good  posi- 
tion as  wives,  and  are  now  the  heads   of 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  1^89 

the  most  respectable  homes.  Without 
true  education  or  morals,  but  trained 
thoroughly  in  all  the  arts  and  accomplish- 
ments that  please,  —  witty,  quick  at  repar- 
tee, pretty,  and  always  well  dressed,  —  the 
geisha  has  proved  a  formidable  rival  for 
the  demure,  quiet  maiden  of  good  family, 
who  can  only  give  her  husband  an  unsul- 
lied name,  silent  obedience,  and  faithful 
service  all  her  life.  The  freedom  of  the 
present  age,  as  shown  in  the  chapter  on 
"  Marriage  and  Divorce/'  and  as  seen  in 
the  choice  of  such  wives,  has  presented 
this  great  problem  to  the  thinking  women 
of  Japan.  If  the  wives  of  the  leaders  in 
Japan  are  to  come  from  among  such  a 
class  of  women,  something  must  be  done, 
and  done  quickly,  for  the  sake  of  the  future 
of  Japan ;  either  to  raise  the  standards  of 
the  men  in  regard  to  women,  or  to  change 
the  old  system  of  education  for  girls.  A 
liberal  education,  and  more  freedom  in 
early  life  for  women,  has  been  suggested, 
and  is  now  being  tried,  but  the  problem  of 
the  geisha  and  her  fascination  is  a  deep 
one  in  Japan. 

Below  the  geisha  in  respectability  stands 
the   joro,  or    licensed    prostitute.     Every 


2^0    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

city  in  Japan  has  its  disreputable  quarter, 
where  the  various  joroya,  or  licensed  houses 
of  prostitution,  are  situated.  The  supervi- 
sion that  the  government  exercises  over 
these  places  is  extremely  rigid  ;  the  effort 
is  made,  by  licensing  and  regulating  them, 
to  minimize  the  evils  that  must  flow  from 
them.  The  proprietors  of  the  joroya  do 
everything  in  their  power  to  make  their 
houses,  grounds,  and  employees  attractive, 
and,  to  the  unsuspecting  foreigner,  this 
portion  of  the  city  seems  often  the  pleas- 
antest  and  most  respectable.  A  joro  need 
never  be  taken  for  a  respectable  woman, 
for  her  dress  is  distinctive,  and  a  stay  of 
a  short  time  in  Japan  is  long  enough  to 
teach  even  the  most  obtuse  that  the  obi,  or 
sash,  tied  in  front  instead  of  behind,  is  one 
of  the  badges  of  shame.  But  though  the 
occupation  of  the  joro  is  altogether  disrep- 
utable,—  though  the  prostitute  quarter  is 
the  spot  to  which  the  police  turn  for  in- 
formation in  regard  to  criminals  and  law- 
breakers, a  sort  of  a  trap  into  which,  sooner 
or  later,  the  offender  against  the  law  is 
sure  to  fall,  —  Japanese  public  opinion, 
though  recognizing  the  evil  as  a  great  one, 
does  not  look  upon  the  professional  prosti- 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  291 

tute  with  the  loathing  which  she  inspires 
in  Christian  countries.  The  reason  for  this 
lies,  not  solely  in  the  lower  moral  stand- 
ards although  it  is  true  that  sins  of  this 
character  are  regarded  much  more  leni- 
ently in  Japan  than  in  England  or  America. 
The  reason  lies  very  largely  in  the  fact 
that  these  women  are  seldom  free  agents. 
Many  of  them  are  virtually  slaves,  sold  in 
childhood  to  the  keepers  of  the  houses  in 
which  they  work,  and  trained,  amid  the 
surroundings  of  the  joroya,  for  the  life 
which  is  the  only  life  they  have  ever  known. 
A  few  may  have  sacrificed  themselves 
freely  but  reluctantly  for  those  whom  they 
love,  and  by  their  revolting  slavery  may  be 
earning  the  means  to  keep  their  dear  ones 
from  starvation  or  disgrace.  Many  are  the 
Japanese  romances  that  are  woven  about 
the  virtuous  joro,  who  is  eventually  re- 
warded by  finding,  even  in  the  joroya,  a 
lover  who  is  willing  to  raise  her  again  to  a 
life  of  respectability,  and  make  her  a  happy 
wife  and  the  mother  of  children.  Such 
stories  must  necessarily  lower  the  standard 
of  morals  in  regard  to  chastity,  but  in  a 
country  in  which  innocent  romance  has 
little  room  for  development,  the  imagina- 


292     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN, 

tion  must  find  its  materials  where  it  can. 
These  joroya  give  employment  to  thou- 
sands of  women  throughout  the  country, 
but  in  few  cases  do  the  women  seek  that 
employment,  and  more  openings  in  respec- 
table directions,  together  with  a  change  in 
public  opinion  securing  to  every  woman 
the  right  to  her  own  person,  would  tend  to 
diminish  the  number  of  victims  that  these 
institutions  yearly  draw  into  their  devour- 
ing current. 

Innocent  and  reputable  amusements  are 
many  and  varied  in  the  cities.  We  have 
already  mentioned  incidentally  the  thea- 
tre as  one  of  the  favorite  diversions  of  the 
people ;  and  though  it  has  never  been  re- 
garded as  a  very  refined  amusement,  it  has 
done  and  is  doing  much  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  lower  classes  in  the  history  and 
spirit  of  former  times.  Regular  plays  were 
never  performed  in  the  presence  of  the 
Emperor  and  his  court,  or  the  Shogun  and 
his  nobles,  but  the  No  dance  was  the  only 
dramatic  amusement  of  the  nobility.  This 
No  is  an  ancient  Japanese  theatrical  per- 
formance, more,  perhaps,  like  the  Greek 
drama  than  anything  in  our  modern  life. 
All  the  movements  of  the  actors  are  meas- 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  293 

ured  and  conventionalized,  speech  is  a  poet- 
ical recitative,  the  costumes  are  stiff  and 
antique,  masks  are  much  used,  and  a  chorus 
seated  upon  the  stage  chants  audible  com- 
ments upon  the  various  situations.  This 
alone,  the  most  ancient  and  classical  of 
Japanese  theatrical  performances,  is  con- 
sidered worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  Em- 
peror and  the  nobility,  and  takes  the  place 
with  them  of  the  more  vulgar  and  realistic 
plays  which  delight  common  people. 

The  regular  theatre  preserves  in  many 
ways  the  life  and  costumes  of  old  Japan, 
and  the  details  of  dress  and  scenery  are 
most  carefully  studied.  The  actors  are  usu- 
ally men,  though  there  are  "women  thea- 
tres "  in  which  all  the  parts  are  performed 
by  women.  In  no  case  are  the  rOles  taken 
by  both  sexes  upon  one  stage.  As  the  per- 
formances last  all  day,  from  ten  or  eleven 
in  the  forenoon  until  eight  or  nine  in  the 
evening,  going  to  the  theatre  means  much 
more  than  a  few  hours  of  entertainment 
after  the  day's  work  is  over.  A  lunch  and 
dinner,  with  innumerable  light  edibles  be- 
tween, go  to  make  up  the  usual  bill  of  fare 
for  a  day  at  the  play,  and  tea-houses  in  the 
neighborhood   of  the  theatre  provide  the 


294    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

necessary  meals,  a  room  to  take  them  in,  a 
resting-place  between  the  acts,  and  what- 
ever tea,  cakes,  and  other  refreshments 
may  be  ordered.  These  latter  eatables  are 
served  by  the  attendants  of  the  tea-house 
in  the  theatre  boxes  while  the  play  is  in 
progress,  and  the  playgoers  eat  and  smoke 
all  day  long  through  roaring  farce  or  gori- 
est tragedy. 

Similar  to  the  theatre  in  many  ways  are 
the  public  halls,  where  professional  story- 
tellers, the  hanashika,  night  after  night, 
relate  long  stories  to  crowded  audiences,  as 
powerfully  and  vividly  as  the  best  trained 
elocutionist.  Each  gesture,  and  each  mod- 
ulation of  the  voice,  is  studied  as  care- 
fully as  are  those  of  the  actors.  Many  charm- 
ing tales  are  told  of  old  Japan,  and  even 
Western  stories  have  found  their  way  to 
these  assemblies.  A  long  story  is  often 
continued  from  night  to  night  until  fin- 
ished. Unfortunately,  the  class  of  people 
who  patronize  these  places  is  low,  and  the 
moral  tone  of  some  of  the  stories  is  pitched 
accordingly ;  but  the  best  of  the  story-tell- 
ers—  those  who  have  talent  and  reputa- 
tion —  are  often  invited  to  come  to  enter- 
tainments given  at  private  houses,  to  amuse 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  295 

a  large  company  by  their  eloquence  or  mim- 
icry. 

This  is  a  very  favorite  entertainment, 
and  the  hanashika  has  so  perfected  the  art 
of  imitation  that  he  can  change  in  a  mo- 
ment from  the  tones  of  a  child  to  those  of 
an  old  woman.  Solemn  and  sad  subjects 
are  touched  upon,  as  well  as  merry  and 
bright  things,  and  he  never  fails  to  make 
his  audience  weep  or  laugh,  according  to 
his  theme,  and  well  merits  the  applause  he 
always  receives  at  the  end. 

The  hanami,  or  picnic  to  famous  places 
to  view  certain  flowers  as  they  bloom  in 
their  season,  though  not  belonging  strictly 
to  city  life,  forms  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
pleasures  of  city  people.  The  river  Su- 
mida,  on  which  Tokyo  is  situated,  has  lin- 
ing its  eastern  shore  for  some  miles  the 
famous  cherry-trees  of  Japan,  with  their 
large,  double  pink  blossoms,  and  when,  in 
April  and  May,  these  flowers  are  in  their 
perfection,  great  crowds  of  sightseers  flock 
to  Mukojima  to  enjoy  the  blossoms  under 
the  trees.  The  river  is  crowded  with  pic- 
nic parties  in  boats.  Every  tea-house  along 
the  banks  is  full  of  guests,  and  the  little 
stalls  and  resting-places  on  the  way  find  a 


296    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND    WOMEN. 

quick  sale  for  fruit,  confectionery,  and  light 
lunches.  Sake  is  often  too  freely  imbibed 
by  the  merrymakers,  whose  flushed  faces 
show,  when  returning  homeward,  how  their 
day  was  spent.  There  is  much  quiet  en- 
joyment, too,  of  the  lovely  blossoms,  the 
broad,  calm  river,  and  the  gayly  dressed 
crowds.  Hundreds  and  thousands  of  visit- 
ors crowd  to  the  suburban  places  about 
Tokyo,  —  to  Uyeno  Park  for  its  cherry  and 
peach  blossoms,  Kameido  for  the  plum  and 
wistaria,  Oji  for  its  famous  maple-trees, 
and  many  others,  each  noted  for  some  spe- 
cial beauty.  Dango  Zaka  has  its  own  pe- 
culiar attraction,  the  famous  chrysanthe- 
mum  dolls.  These  ingenious  figures  are 
arranged  so  as  to  form  tableaux,  —  scenes 
from  history  or  fiction  well  known  to  all 
the  people.  They  are  of  life  size,  and  the 
faces,  hands,  and  feet  are  made  of  some 
composition,  and  closely  resemble  life  in 
every  detail.  But  the  curious  thing  in 
these  tableaux  is  that  the  scenery,  whether 
it  be  the  representation  of  a  waterfall,  rocks, 
or  bushes,  the  animals,  and  the  dresses  of 
the  figures  are  made  entirely  of  chrysan- 
themum twigs,  leaves,  and  flowers,  not  cut 
and  woven  in,  as  at  the  first  glance  they 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES.  297 

seem  to  be,  —  so  closely  are  the  leaves  and 
flowers  bound  together  to  make  the  flat 
surface  of  different  objects, — but  alive  and 
growing  on  the  plants.  It  is  impossible 
to  tell  where  the  roots  and  stems  are  hid- 
den, for  nothing  is  visible  but  (for  ex- 
ample) the  white  spray  and  greenish  shad- 
ows of  a  waterfall,  or  the  parti- colored  fig- 
ures in  a  young  girl's  dress.  But,  should 
it  be  the  visitor's  good  fortune  to  watch  the 
repairing  of  one  of  these  lifelike  images,  he 
will  find  that  the  entire  body  is  a  frame 
woven  of  split  bamboo,  within  which  the 
plants  are  placed,  their  roots  packed  in 
damp  earth  and  bound  about  with  straw, 
while  their  leaves  and  flowers  are  pulled 
through  the  basket  frame  and  woven  into 
whatsoever  pattern  the  artistic  eye  and 
skillful  fingers  of  the  gardener  may  select. 
A  roof  of  matting  shields  each  group  from 
the  sun  by  day,  and  a  slight  sprinkling 
every  night  serves  to  keep  the  plants  fresh 
for  nearly  a  month,  and  the  flowers  con- 
tinue their  blooming  during  that  time,  as 
calmly  as  if  in  perfectly  natural  positions. 
Each  of  the  gardeners  of  the  neighborhood 
has  his  own  little  show,  containing  several 
tableaux,  the  entrance  to  which  is  guarded 


298    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

by  an  officious  gate-keeper,  who  shouts  out 
the  merits  of  his  particular  groups  of  fig- 
ures, and  forces  his  show-bills  upon  the 
passer-by,  in  the  hope  of  securing  the  two 
sen  admission  fee  which  is  required  for 
each  exhibit. 

And  so,  amid  the  shopping,  the  festivals, 
the  amusements  of  the  great  cities,  the 
women  find  their  lives  varied  in  many  ways. 
Their  holidays  from  home  duties  are  spent 
amid  these  enjoyments ;  and  if  they  have 
not  the  out-of-door  employments,  the  long 
walks  up  the  mountains,  the  days  spent  in 
tea-picking,  in  harvesting,  in  all  the  varied 
work  that  comes  to  the  country  woman, 
the  dwellers  in  the  city  have  no  lack  of 
sights  and  sounds  to  amuse  and  interest 
them,  and  would  not  often  care  to  exchange 
their  lot  for  the  freer  and  hardier  life  of 
the  rustic. 


CHAPTER  XL 

DOMESTIC    SERVICE. 

To  the  foreigner,  upon  his  arrival  in  Ja- 
pan, the  status  of  household  servants  is  at 
first  a  source  of  much  perplexity.  There 
is  a  freedom  in  their  relations  with  the 
families  that  they  serve,  that  in  this  coun- 
try would  be  regarded  as  impudence,  and 
an  independence  of  action  that,  in  many 
cases,  seems  to  take  the  form  of  direct  dis- 
obedience to  orders.  From  the  steward  of 
your  household,  who  keeps  your  accounts, 
makes  your  purchases,  and  manages  your 
affairs,  to  your  jinriMsha  man  or  groom, 
every  servant  in  your  establishment  does 
what  is  right  in  his  own  eyes,  and  after  the 
manner  that  he  thinks  best.  Mere  blind 
obedience  to  orders  is  not  regarded  as  a 
virtue  in  a  Japanese  servant;  he  must  do 
his  own  thinking,  and,  if  he  cannot  grasp 
the  reason  for  your  order,  that  order  will 
not  be  carried  out.  Housekeeping  in  Japan 
\s   frequently   the   despair   of  the  thrifty 


300    JAPANESE  GIELS  AND   WOMEN. 

American  housewife,  who  has  been  accus- 
tomed in  her  own  country  to  be  the  head 
of  every  detail  of  household  work,  leaving 
to  her  servants  only  the  mechanical  labor 
of  the  hands.  She  begins  by  showing  her 
Oriental  help  the  work  to  be  done,  and 
just  the  way  in  which  she  is  accustomed  to 
having  it  done  at  home,  and  the  chances 
are  about  one  in  a  hundred  that  her  servant 
will  carry  out  her  instructions.  In  the 
ninety-nine  other  cases,  he  will  accomplish 
the  desired  result,  but  by  means  totally  dif- 
ferent from  those  to  which  the  American 
housekeeper  is  accustomed.  If  the  house- 
wife is  one  of  the  worrying  kind,  who  cares 
as  much  about  the  way  in  which  the  thing 
is  done  as  about  the  accomplished  result, 
the  chances  are  that  she  will  wear  herself 
out  in  a  fruitless  endeavor  to  make  her 
servants  do  things  in  her  own  way,  and 
will,  when  she  returns  to  America,  assure 
you  that  Japanese  servants  are  the  most 
idle,  stupid,  and  altogether  worthless  lot 
that  it  was  ever  her  bad  fortune  to  have 
to  do  with.  But  on  the  other  hand,  if  the 
lady  of  the  house  is  one  who  is  willing  to 
give  general  orders,  and  then  sit  down  and 
wait  until  the  work  is  done  before  critieis- 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  301 

ing  it,  she  will  find  that  by  some  means  or 
other  the  work  will  be  accomplished  and 
her  desire  will  be  carried  out,  provided  only 
that  her  servants  see  a  reason  for  getting* 
the  thing  done.  And  as  she  finds  that 
her  domestics  will  take  responsibility  upon 
themselves,  and  will  work,  not  only  with 
their  hands,  but  with  the  will  and  intellect 
in  her  service,  she  soon  yields  to  their  pro- 
tecting and  thoughtful  care  for  herself  and 
her  interests,  and,  when  she  returns  to 
America,  is  loud  in  her  praises  of  the  com- 
petence and  devotion  of  her  Japanese  ser- 
vants. Even  in  the  treaty  ports,  where 
contact  with  foreigners  has  given  to  the 
Japanese  attendants  the  silent  and  re- 
pressed air  that  we  regard  as  the  standard 
manner  for  a  servant,  they  have  not  re- 
signed their  right  of  private  judgment,  but, 
if  faithful  and  honest,  seek  the  best  good 
of  their  employer,  even  if  his  best  good 
involves  disobedience  of  his  orders.  This 
characteristic  of  the  Japanese  servant  is 
aggravated  when  he  is  in  the  employment 
of  foreigners,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he 
is  apt  to  regard  the  foreigner  as  a  species 
of  imbecile,  who  must  be  cared  for  tenderly 
oecause  he  is  quite  incompetent  to  care  for 


302    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

himself,  but  whose  fancies  must  not  be 
too  much  regarded.  Of  the  relations  of 
foreign  employers  and  Japanese  servants 
much  might  be  said,  but  our  business  is 
with  the  position  of  the  servants  in  a  Jap- 
anese household. 

Under  the  old  feudal  system,  the  servants 
of  every  family  were  its  hereditary  retain- 
ers, and  from  generation  to  generation  de- 
sired no  higher  lot  than  personal  service 
in  the  family  to  which  they  belonged.  The 
principle  of  loyalty  to  the  family  interests 
was  the  leading  principle  in  the  lives  of  the 
servants,  just  as  loyalty  to  the  daimio  was 
the  highest  duty  of  the  samurai.  Long 
and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  family  his- 
tory and  traits  of  character  rendered  it  pos- 
sible for  the  retainer  to  work  intelligently 
for  his  master,  and  do  independently  for 
him  many  things  without  orders.  The  ser- 
vant in  many  cases  knew  his  master  and 
his  master's  interests  as  well  as  the  master 
himself,  or  even  better,  and  must  act  by 
the  light  of  his  own  knowledge  in  cases 
where  his  master  was  ignorant  or  misin- 
formed. One  can  easily  see  how  ties  of 
good-fellowship  and  sympathy  would  arise 
between  masters  and  servants,  how  a  com- 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  303 

munity  of  interest  would  exist,  so  that  the 
good  of  the  master  and  his  family  would  be 
the  condition  for  the  good  of  the  servant 
and  his  family.  In  America,  where  the 
relation  between  servant  and  employer  is 
usually  a  simple  business  arrangement,  each 
giving  certain  specified  considerations  and 
nothing  more,  the  relation  of  servant  to 
master  is  shorn  of  all  sentiment  and  af- 
fection ;  the  servant's  interests  are  quite 
apart  from  those  of  his  employer,  and  his 
main  object  is  to  get  the  specified  work 
done  and  obtain  more  time  for  himself,  and 
sooner  or  later  to  leave  the  despised  occu- 
pation of  domestic  service  for  some  higher 
and  more  independent  calling.  In  Japan, 
where  faithful  service  of  a  master  was  re- 
garded as  a  calling  worthy  of  absorbing 
any  one's  highest  abilities  through  a  life- 
time,,  the  position  of  a  servant  was  not 
menial  or  degrading,  but  might  be  higher 
than  that  of  the  farmer,  merchant,  or  arti- 
san. Whether  the  position  was  a  high  or  a 
low  one  depended,  not  so  much  on  the  work 
done,  as  the  person  for  whom  it  was  done, 
and  the  servant  of  a  daimio  or  high  rank 
samurai  was  worthy  of  more  honor,  and 
might  be  of  far  better  birth,  than  the  hide- 


304    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND    WOMEN. 

pendent  merchant  or  artisan.  As  the  for- 
mer feudal  system  is  yet  within  the  mem- 
ory of  many  of  the  present  generation, 
and  its  feelings  still  alive  in  Japan,  much 
of  the  old  sentiment  remains,  even  with 
the  merely  hired  domestics  in  a  household 
of  the  present  day.  The  servant,  by  his 
own  master,  is  addressed  by  name,  with  no 
title  of  respect,  is  treated  as  an  inferior, 
and  spoken  to  in  the  language  used  toward 
inferiors;  but  to  all  others  he  is  a  person 
to  be  treated  w7ith  respect,  —  to  be  bowed 
to  profoundly,  addressed  by  the  title  San, 
and  spoken  to  in  the  politest  of  language. 
You  make  a  call  upon  a  Japanese  house- 
hold, and  the  servant  who  admits  you  will 
expect  to  exchange  the  formal  salutations 
with  you.  When  you  are  ushered  into 
the  reception-room,  should  the  lady  of  the 
house  be  absent,  the  head  servants  will  not 
only  serve  you  with  tea  and  refreshments 
and  offer  you  hospitalities  in  their  mistress's 
name,  but  may,  if  no  one  else  be  there,  sit 
with  you  in  the  parlor,  entertaining  you 
with  conversation  until  the  return  of  the 
hostess.  The  servants  of  the  household  are 
by  no  means  ignored  socially,  as  they  are 
with  us,  but  are  always  recognized  and  sa- 


DOMESTIC  SEE  VICE.  305 

luted  by  visitors  as  they  pass  into  and  out 
of  the  room,  and  are  free  to  join  in  the  con- 
versation of  their  betters,  should  they  see 
any  place  where  it  is  possible  that  they  may 
shed  light  on  the  subject  discussed.  But 
though  given  this  liberty  of  speech,  treated 
with  much  consideration,  and  having  some- 
times much  responsibility,  servants  do  not 
forget  their  places  in  the  household,  and 
do  not  seem  to  be  bold  or  out  of  place.  In- 
deed, the  manners  of  some  of  them  would 
seem,  to  any  one  but  a  Japanese,  to  denote 
a  lack  of  proper  self-respect,  —  an  excess  of 
humility,  or  an  affectation  of  it. 

In  explaining  to  my  scholars,  who  were 
reading  "  Little  Lord  Fauntleroy  "  in  Eng- 
lish, a  passage  where  a  footman  is  spoken 
of  as  having  nearly  disgraced  himself  by 
laughing  at  some  quaint  saying  of  theyoung 
lord,  my  little  peeresses  were  amazed  beyond 
measure  to  learn  that  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica a  servant  is  expected  never  to  show  any 
interest  in,  or  knowledge  of,  the  conversa- 
tion of  his  betters,  never  to  speak  unless 
addressed,  and  never  to  smile  under  any 
circumstances.  Doubtless,  in  their  shrewd 
little  brains,  they  formed  their  opinion  of 
a  civilization  imposing  such  barbarous  re- 
straints upon  one  class  of  yersons. 


306    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

The  women  servants  in  a  family  are  in 
position  more  like  the  self-respecting,  old- 
fashioned  New  England  "  help  "  than  they 
are  like  the  modern  "  girl."  They  do  not 
work  all  day  while  the  mistress  sits  in  the 
parlor  doing  nothing,  and  then,  when  their 
day's  work  is  done,  go  out,  anxious  to  for- 
get, in  the  society  of  their  friends,  the 
drudgery  which  only  the  necessity  for  self- 
support  and  the  high  wages  to  be  earned 
render  tolerable.  As  has  been  explained 
in  a  previous  chapter,  the  mistress  of  the 
house  —  be  she  priucess  or  peasant  —  is 
herself  the  head  servant,  and  only  gives  up 
to  her  helpers  the  part  of  the  labor  which 
she  has  not  the  time  or  strength  to  per- 
form. Certain  menial  duties  toward  her 
husband  and  children,  every  Japanese  wife 
and  mother  must  do  herself,  and  would 
scorn  to  delegate  to  any  other  woman  ex- 
cept in  case  of  absolute  necessity.  Thus 
there  is  not  that  gap  between  mistress  and 
maid  that  exists  in  our  days  among  the 
women  of  this  country.  The  servants  work 
with  their  mistress,  helping  her  in  every 
possible  way,  and  are  treated  as  responsible 
members  of  the  household,  if  not  of  the 
family  itself. 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  307 

At  evening1,  when  the  wooden  shutters 
are  slid  into  their  places  around  the  porch 
and  the  lamps  are  lighted,  the  family 
gather  together  in  the  sitting-room  around 
the  hibachi  to  talk,  free  from  interruption, 
for  no  visitor  comes  at  such  an  hour  to 
disturb  the  family  circle.  The  mother  will 
have  her  sewing  or  work,  the  children  will 
study  their  lessons,  and  the  others  will 
talk  or  amuse  themselves  in  various  ways. 
Then,  perhaps,  the  maidservants,  having 
finished  their  tasks  about  the  house,  will 
join  the  circle,  —  always  at  a  respectful  dis- 
tance, —  will  do  their  sewing  and  listen 
to  the  talk,  and  often  join  in  the  conver- 
sation, but  in  the  most  humble  manner. 
Perhaps,  at  times,  some  one  more  ambi- 
tions than  the  others  will  bring  in  a  book, 
and  ask  the  meaning  of  a  word  or  a  phrase 
she  has  met  in  studying,  and  little  helps  of 
this  kind  are  given  most  willingly. 

We  have  seen  that  the  ladies-in-waiting 
in  the  houses  of  the  nobles  are  daughters 
of  samurai,  who  gladly  serve  in  these  posi- 
tions for  the  sake  of  the  honor  of  such 
service,  and  the  training  they  receive  in 
noble  houses.  In  a  somewhat  similar  way, 
places  in  the  homes  of  those  of  distinction 


308    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

or  skill  in  any  art  or  profession  are  held  in 
great  demand  among  the  Japanese  ;  and  a 
prominent  poet,  scholar,  physician,  or  pro- 
fessional man  of  any  kind  is  often  asked  by 
anxious  parents  to  take  their  sons  under 
his  own  roof,  so  that  they  may  be  under 
his  influence,  and  receive  the  benefits  of 
stay  in  such  an  honorable  house.  The  pa- 
rents who  thus  send  their  children  may 
not  be  of  low  rank  at  all,  but  are  usually 
not  sufficiently  well-to-do  to  spend  much 
money  in  the  education  of  their  children. 
The  position  that  such  boys  occupy  in 
the  household  is  a  curious  one.  They  are 
called  Sho-sei,  meaning  students,  and  stu- 
dents they  usually  are,  spending  all  their 
leisure  moments  and  their  evenings  in 
study.  They  are  never  treated  as  infe- 
riors, except  in  age  and  experience ;  they 
may  or  may  not  eat  with  the  family,  and 
are  always  addressed  with  respect.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  always  feel  them- 
selves to  be  dependents,  and  must  be  will- 
ing without  wages  to  work  in  any  capacity 
about  the  house,  for  the  sake  of  picking  up 
what  crumbs  of  knowledge  may  fall  to  them 
from  their  master's  table.  Service  is  not 
absolutely  demanded  of  them,  but  they  are 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  309 

expected  to  do  what  will  pay  for  their 
board,  and  do  not  regard  menial  work  as 
below  them,  performing  cheerfully  all  that 
the  master  may  require  of  them. 

In  this  way,  a  man  of  moderate  means 
can  help  along  many  poor  young  men  in 
whom  he  may  feel  interested,  and  in  re- 
turn be  saved  expense  about  his  household 
work;  and  the  students,  while  always  con- 
siderately treated,  are  able  without  great 
expense  to  study,  —  often  even  to  prepare 
for  college,  or  get  a  start  in  one  of  the 
professions,  for  they  have  many  leisure 
moments  to  devote  to  their  books.  Many 
prominent  men  of  the  present  day  have 
been  students  of  this  class,  aud  are  now  in 
their  turn  helping  the  younger  generation. 

The  boys  that  one  sees  iu  shops,  or,  with 
workmen  of  all  kinds,  helping  in  many 
little  ways,  are  not  hirelings,  but  appren- 
tices, who  hope  some  day  to  hold  just  as 
good  positions  as  their  masters,  and  expect 
to  know  as  much,  if  not  a  great  deal  more. 
At  the  shop  or  in  the  home,  they  not  only 
help  in  the  trades  or  occupations  they  are 
learning,  but  are  willing  to  do  any  kind  of 
menial  work  for  their  master  or  his  fam- 
ily in   return  for  what   they  receive  from 


310     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

him;  for  they  do  not  pay  for  their  board 
nor  for  what  they  are  taught.  Even  when 
the  age  of  education  is  already  past,  grown 
men  and  women  are  willing  to  leave  quite 
independent  positions  to  shine  with  re- 
flected glory  as  servants  of  persons  of  high 
rank  or  distinction.  "  The  servant  is  not 
greater  than  his  master  "  in  Japan ;  but  if 
the  master  is  great,  the  servant  is  consid- 
erably greater  than  the  man  without  a 
master. 

In  a  country  like  Japan,  where  one 
finds  but  few  wealthy  people,  there  may  be 
cause  for  wonder  at  the  large  households, 
where  there  are  so  many  servants.  There 
will  be  often  as  many  as  ten  or  more  ser- 
vants hi  a  home  where,  in  other  ways,  lux- 
ury and  wealth  are  not  displayed.  In  the 
oku,  or  the  part  of  the  house  where  the 
lady  of  the  house  stays,  are  found  her  own 
maid,  and  women  who  help  in  the  work 
about  the  house,  sew  in  their  leisure  mo- 
ments, and  are  the  higher  servants  of  the 
family;  there  are  also  the  children's  at- 
tendants, often  one  for  each  child,  as  well 
as  the  waiting  women  for  the  Go  Inkyo 
Sama.  In  the  kitchen  are  the  cooks  and 
their  assistants,  the  lower  servants,  and  usu- 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE,  311 

ally  one  or  more  jinriJcisha  men,  who  be- 
long to  the  house,  and,  if  this  be  the  home 
of  an  official  who  keeps  horses,  a  betid  for 
each  animaL  There  are  also  gardeners, 
errand-boys,  and  gate-keepers  to  guard  the 
large  yasliikis.  Such  a  retinue  w7ould  seem 
a  great  deal  to  maintain ;  but  servants' 
wages  are  so  low,  and  the  cost  of  living  is 
so  small,  that  in  this  matter  Japanese  can 
afford  to  be  luxurious.  Three  or  four  dol- 
lars will  cover  the  cost  of  food  for  a  month 
for  one  person,  and  women  servants  ex- 
pect only  a  few  dollars  in  wages  for  that 
time.  The  men  receive  much  higher  pay, 
but  at  the  most  it  is  less  than  what  a  good 
cook  receives  in  many  homes  here.  The 
wages  do  not  include  occasional  presents, 
especially  those  given  semi-annually,  —  a 
small  sum  of  money,  or  dress  material  of 
some  kind,  —  which  servants  expect,  and 
which,  of  course,  are  no  small  item  in  the 
family  expense. 

Homes  which  maintain  a  great  deal  of 
style  need  many  servants,  for  they  expect 
to  work  less  than  the  American  servant, 
and  are  less  able  to  hurry  and  rush  through 
their  work ;  and  they  do  not  desire,  if  they 
could,  to  take  life  so  hard,  even  to  earn 


312    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

greater  pay.  The  family,  too,  in  many  cases 
are  used  to  having  plenty  of  hands  to  do 
the  work;  the  ladies  are  much  less  inde- 
pendent, and  life  has  more  formalities  and 
red  tape  in  Japan  than  in  America.  A 
great  deal  of  the  shopping  is  done  by  ser- 
vants, who  are  sent  out  on  errands  and 
often  do  important  business.  Maids  ac- 
company their  mistresses  to  make  visits ; 
servants  go  with  parties  to  the  theatre,  to 
picnics,  or  on  journeys,  and  these  expedi- 
tions are  as  heartily  enjoyed  by  them  as  by 
their  masters.  It  is  expected,  especially  of 
ladies  and  persons  of  high  rank,  that  the 
details  of  the  journey,  the  bargaining  with 
coolies,  the  hiring  of  vehicles,  and  paying 
of  bills,  be  left  in  charge  of  some  mauser- 
vant,  who  is  entirely  responsible,  and  wrho 
makes  all  the  bargains,  arranges  the  jour- 
ney for  his  employer,  and  takes  charge  of 
evervthinig:,  —  even  to  the  amount  of  fees 
given  along  the  way. 

Perhaps  the  highest  positions  of  service 
now  —  positions  honorable  anywhere  in 
Japan  —  are  held  by  those  who  remain  of 
the  old  retainers  of  daimios,  and  who 
regulate  the  households  of  the  nobles. 
Such  men  must  have  good  education,  and 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  313 

good  judgment ;  for  much  is  left  in  their 
hands,  and  they  are  usually  gentlemen, 
who  would  be  known  as  such  anywhere. 
They  are  the  stewards  of  the  household, 
the  secretaries  of  their  masters ;  keep  all 
accounts,  for  which  they  are  responsible, 
and  attend  to  the  minor  affairs  of  etiquette, 
—  the  latter  no  trifling  duty  in  a  noble's 
home.  It  is  they  who  accompany  the  no- 
bles on  their  journeys,  —  regulate,  advise, 
and  attend  to  the  little  affairs  of  life,  of 
which  the  master  may  be  ignorant  and 
cares  not  to  learn.  They  are  the  last  of 
the  crowds  of  feudal  retainers,  who  once 
filled  castle  and  yashiki,  and  are  now  scat- 
tered throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  kingdom. 

The  higher  servants  in  the  household 
must  be  always  more  or  less  trained  in  eti- 
quette, and  are  expected  to  look  neat  and 
tidy ;  to  serve  guests  with  tea  and  refresh- 
ments, without  any  orders  to  that  effect ; 
and  to  use  their  judgment  in  little  house- 
hold affairs,  and  thus  help  the  lady  of  the 
house.  They  are  usually  clever  with  their 
fingers,  and  can  sew  neatly.  When  their 
mistress  goes  out  they  assist  her  to  dress, 
and    only  a  few   words   from    her  will   be 


314    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

necessary  for  them  to  have  everything  in 
readiness,  from  her  sash  and  dress  to  all 
the  little  belongings  of  a  lady's  costume. 
Many  a  bright,  quick  servant  is  found  who 
will  understand  and  guess  her  mistress's 
wants  without  being  told  each  detail,  and 
these  not  only  serve  with  their  hands,  but 
think  for  their  employers. 

Much  less  is  expected  of  the  lower  ser- 
vants, who  belong  to  the  kitchen,  and  have 
less  to  do  with  the  family  in  general,  and 
little  or  no  personal  contact  with  their 
masters.  They  perform  their  round  of  du- 
ties with  little  responsibility,  and  are  re- 
garded as  much  lower  in  the  social  scale 
of  servants,  of  which  we  have  seen  there 
are  many  degrees. 

The  little  gozen-tahi,  or  rice-cook,  who 
works  all  day  in  the  kitchen,  may  be  a  fat, 
red-cheeked,  frowsy-haired  country  girl,  — 
patient,  hard-working,  and  humble-minded, 
—  willing  to  pother  about  all  day  with  her 
kettles  and  pans,  and  sit  up  half  the  night 
over  her  own  sewing,  or  the  study  of  the 
often  unfamiliar  art  of  reading  and  writ- 
ing; but  entirely  unacquainted  with  the 
details  of  etiquette,  a  knowledge  of  which 
is  a  necessity  to  the  higher  servants, — 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  315 

sometimes  even  thrown  into  an  agony  of 
diffidence  should  it  become  necessary  to 
appear  before  master  or  mistress. 

Some  of  the  customs  of  the  household, 
in  regard  to  servants,  are  quite  striking  to 
a  foreigner.  When  the  master  of  the  house 
starts  out  each  morning,  besides  the  wife 
and  children  who  see  him  off,  all  the  ser- 
vants who  are  not  especially  occupied  —  a 
goodly  number,  sometimes  —  come  to  the 
front  door  and  bow  down  to  bid  him  good- 
by.  On  his  return,  also,  when  the  noise 
of  the  kuruma  is  heard,  and  the  shout  of 
the  men,  who  call  out  "  0  kaeri!  "  when 
near  the  house,  the  servants  go  out  to 
greet  him,  and  bowing  low  speak  the  cus- 
tomary words  of  salutation.  To  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  the  same  is  done  to  every 
member  of  the  family,  the  younger  mem- 
bers, however,  receiving  a  smaller  share 
of  the  attention  than  their  elders. 

When,  as  very  often  happens,  a  guest 
staying  for  any  length  of  time  in  a  family, 
or  a  frequent  visitor,  gives  a  servant  a  pres- 
ent of  money  or  any  trifle,  the  servant,  after 
thanking  the  donor,  takes  the  white  paper 
bundle  to  the  mistress  of  the  house,  and 
shows  it  to  her,  expressing  his  gratitude 


316    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

to  her  for  the  gift,  and  also  asking  her  to 
thank  the  giver.  This,  of  course,  is  al- 
ways done,  for  a  gift  to  a  servant  is  as 
much  of  a  favor  to  the  mistress  as  a  pres- 
ent to  a  child  is  to  its  mother. 

When  a  servant  wishes  to  leave  a  family, 
she  rarely  goes  to  her  mistress  and  states 
that  she  is  dissatisfied  with  her  position, 
and  that  some  better  chance  has  been  of- 
fered her.  Such  a  natural  excuse  never 
occurs  to  the  Japanese  servant,  unless  he 
be  a  jinriliisha  man  or  betto,  who  may  not 
know  how  to  do  better ;  for  it  is  a  very 
rude  way  of  leaving  service.  The  high- 
minded  maid  will  proceed  very  differently. 
A  few  days'  leave  of  absence  to  visit  home 
will  be  asked  and  usually  granted,  for  Jap- 
anese servants  never  have  any  settled  time 
to  take  holiday.  At  the  end  of  the  given 
time  the  mistress  will  begin  to  wonder 
what  has  become  of  the  girl,  who  has  failed 
to  return  ;  and  the  lady  will  make  up  her 
mind  she  will  not  let  her  go  again  so  read- 
ily. Just  when  she  has  a  sharp  reproof 
ready,  a  messenger  or  letter  will  arrive, 
with  some  good  excuse,  couched  in  most 
polite  and  humble  terms.  Sometimes  it 
will  be  that  she  has  found  herself  too  weak 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  317 

for  service,  or  that  work  at  home,  or  the 
illness  of  some  member  of  the  family,  de- 
tains her,  so  that  she  is  not  able  to  come 
back  at  present.  The  excuse  is  under- 
stood and  accepted  as  final,  and  another 
servant  is  sought  for  and  obtained.  After 
several  weeks  have  passed,  very  likely  after 
entering  a  new  place,  the  old  servant  will 
turn  up  some  day,  express  her  thanks  for 
all  past  kindnesses  and  regrets  at  not  re- 
turning in  time,  will  take  her  pay  and  her 
bundles,  and  disappear  forever. 

Even  when  servants  come  on  trial  for  a 
few  days,  they  often  go  away  nominally  to 
fetch  their  belongings,  or  make  arrange- 
ments to  return,  but  the  lady  of  the  house 
does  not  know  whether  the  woman  is  sat- 
isfied or  not.  If  she  is  not,  her  refusal  is 
always  brought  by  a  third  person.  If  the 
mistress,  on  her  side,  does  not  wish  to  hire 
the  girl,  she  will  not  tell  her  so  to  her 
face,  but  will  send  word  at  this  time  to  pre- 
vent her  coming.  Such  is  the  etiquette  in 
these  matters  of  mistress  and  maid. 

Only  by  a  multiplicity  of  details  is  it 
possible  to  give  much  idea  of  the  position 
of  servants  in  a  Japanese  house,  and  even 
then  the  result  arrived  at  is  that  the  posi- 


318     JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN. 

tions  of  what  we  would  call  domestic  ser- 
vants vary  so  greatly  in  honor  and  respon- 
sibility that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  draw 
any  general  conclusions  upon  this  subject. 
We  have  seen  that  there  is  no  distinct 
servile  class  in  Japan,  and  that  a  person's 
social  status  is  not  altered  by  the  fact  that 
he  serves  in  a  menial  capacity,  provided 
that  service  be  of  one  above  him  in  rank 
and  not  below  him.  This  is  largely  the 
result  of  the  grading  of  society  upon  other 
lines  than  those  on  which  our  social  dis- 
tinctions are  founded,  and  partly  the  result 
of  the  fact  that  women,  of  whatever  class, 
are  servants  so  far  as  persons  of  the  oppo- 
site sex  in  their  own  class  are  concerned. 
The  women  of  Japan  to-day  form  the  great 
servile  class,  and,  as  they  are  also  the 
wives  and  mothers  of  those  whom  they 
serve,  they  are  treated,  of  course,  with  a 
certain  consideration  and  respect  never 
given  to  a  mere  servant ;  and  through 
them,  all  domestic  service  is  elevated. 

There  are  two  employments  which  I 
have  mentioned  among  those  of  domestic 
servants  because  they  would  be  so  classed 
by  us,  but  which  in  Japan  rank  among 
the   trades.     The  jinriMsha  man   and  the 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  319 

groom  belong,  as  a  rule,  to  a  certain  class 
at  the  bottom  of  the  social  ladder,  and  no 
samurai  would  think  of  entering  either  of 
these  occupations,  except  under  stress  of 
severest  poverty.  The  bettos,  or  grooms, 
are  a  hereditary  class  and  a  regular  guild, 
and  have  a  reputation,  among  both  Jap- 
anese and  foreigners,  as  a  betting,  gam- 
bling, cheating,  good-for-nothing  lot.  An 
honest  betto  is  a  rare  phenomenon.  The 
jinriJcisha  men  are,  many  of  them,  sons  of 
peasants,  who  come  to  the  cities  for  the 
sake  of  earning  more  money,  or  leading  a 
livelier  life  than  can  be  found  in  the  lit- 
tle thatched  cottage  among  the  rice-fields. 
Few  of  them  are  married,  or  have  homes 
of  their  own.  Many  of  them  drink  and 
gamble,  and  sow  their  wild  oats  in  all  pos- 
sible ways  ;  but  they  are  a  well-meaning, 
fairly  honest,  happy-go-lucky  set,  who  lead 
hard  lives  of  exhausting  labor,  and  endure 
long  hours  of  exposure  to  heat  and  cold, 
rain,  snow,  and  blinding  sunshine,  not 
only  with  little  complaint  or  grumbling, 
but  with  absolute  cheerfulness  and  hilar- 
ity. A  strong,  fast  jinrikisha  man  takes 
great  pride  in  his  strength  and  speed.  It 
is  a  point  of  honor  with   him  to  pull  his 


320    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

passenger  up  the  steepest  and  most  slip- 
pery of  hills,  and  never  to  heed  him  if  he 
expresses  a  desire  to  walk  in  order  to  save 
his  man.  I  have  had  my  Jcurumaya  stoutly 
refuse,  again  and  again,  my  offers  to  walk 
up  a  steep  hill,  even  when  the  snow  was 
so  soft  and  slippery  under  his  bare  feet 
that  he  fell  three  times  in  making  the 
ascent.  "  Dai  jobu  "  (safe)  would  be  his 
smiling  response  to  all  my  protestations  ; 
and,  once  in  a  jinriMsha,  the  passenger  is 
entirely  at  the  mercy  of  his  man  in  all 
matters  of  getting  into  and  out  of  the  ve- 
hicle. But  though  the  jinrilcisha  man  is, 
for  the  time  being,  the  autocrat  and  con- 
trolling power  over  his  passenger,  and 
though  he  will  not  obey  the  behests  of  his 
employer,  except  so  far  as  they  seem  rea- 
sonable and  in  accordance  with  the  best 
interests  of  all  concerned,  he  constitutes 
himself  the  protector  and  assistant,  the 
adviser  and  counselor,  of  him  whom  he 
serves,  and  gives  his  best  thought  and  in- 
telligence, as  well  as  his  speed  and  strength, 
to  the  service  in  which  he  is  engaged.  If 
he  thinks  it  safe,  he  will  tear  like  an  un- 
broken colt  through  the  business  portions 
of  the  city,  knocking  bundles  out  of  the 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE,  321 

hands  of  foot  passengers,  or  even  hitting1 
the  wayfarers  themselves  in  a  fierce  dash 
through  their  midst,  laughing  gayly  at 
their  protests,  and  at  threats  of  wrath  to 
come  from  his  helpless  passenger;  but 
should  hint  of  insult  or  injury  against  ku- 
ruma,  passenger,  or  passenger's  dog  fall 
upon  his  ears,  he  will  drop  the  jinrihislta 
shafts,  and  administer  condign  punishment 
to  the  offender,  unchecked  by  thoughts  of 
the  ever-present  police,  or  by  any  terrors 
that  his  employer  may  hold  over  his  head. 
In  no  other  country  in  the  world,  perhaps, 
can  a  lady  place  more  entire  confidence  in 
the  honor  and  loyalty  of  her  servant  than 
she  can  in  Japan  in  her  kurumaya,  whether 
he  be  her  private  servant,  or  one  from  a 
respectable  stand.  He  may  not  do  what 
she  bids  him,  but  that  is  quite  a  secondary 
matter.  He  will  study  her  interests  ;  will 
remember  her  likes  and  dislikes  ;  will  take 
a  mental  inventory  of  the  various  accesso- 
ries or  bundles  that  she  carries  with  her, 
and  will  never  permit  her  to  lose  or  forget 
one  of  them ;  will  run  his  legs  off  in  her 
service,  and  defend  her  and  her  property 
valiantly  in  case  of  need.  Of  course,  as 
in  all  classes  there   are   different   grades, 


322    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

so  there  are  jinrikisha  men  who  seem  to 
have  sunk  so  low  in  their  calling  that  they 
have  lost  all  feeling  of  loyalty  to  their  em- 
ployer, and  only  care  selfishly  for  the  pit- 
tance they  gain.  Such  men  are  often 
found  in  the  treaty  ports,  eagerly  seeking 
for  the  rich  foreigner,  from  whom  they 
can  get  an  extra  fee,  and  whom  they  re- 
gard as  outside  of  their  code  of  morals, 
and  hence  as  their  natural  prey.  Trav- 
elers, and  even  residents  of  Japan,  have 
often  complained  of  such  treatment;  and 
it  is  only  after  long  stay  in  Japan,  among 
the  Japanese  themselves,  that  one  can  tell 
what  sijinrikisha  man  is  capable  of. 

If  you  employ  one  Jcurumaya  for  any 
length  of  time,  you  come  to  have  a  real 
affection  for  him  on  account  of  his  loyal, 
faithful,  cheerful  service,  such  as  we  sel- 
dom find-  in  this  country  except  when  in- 
spired by  personal  feeling.  When  you  have 
ridden  miles  and  miles,  by  night  and  bj 
day,  through  rain  and  sleet  and  hottest 
sunshine,  behind  a  man  who  has  used 
every  power  of  body  and  mind  in  your  ser- 
vice, you  cannot  but  have  a  strong  feeling 
of  affection  toward  him,  and  of  pride  in 
him  as  well.     It  is  something  the  feeling 


DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  823 

that  one  has  for  a  good  saddle-horse,  but- 
more  developed.  You  rejoice,  not  only  in 
his  strength  and  speed,  put  forth  so  will- 
ingly in  your  service;  in  his  picturesque, 
dark  blue  costume  with  your  monogram 
embroidered  on  the  back ;  in  his  hand- 
somely turned  ankles;  in  his  black,  wavy 
hair;  in  his  delicate  hands  and  trim  waist, 
- —  though  these  are  often  a  source  of  pride 
to  you, — but  his  skill  in  divining  your 
wants  ;  his  use  of  his  tongue  in  your  ser- 
vice; his  helping  out  of  your  faltering 
Japanese  with  explanations  which,  if  not 
elegant,  have  the  merit  of  being  easily  un- 
derstood; his  combats  with  extortionate 
shopkeepers  in  your  behalf;  his  interest  in 
all  your  doings  and  concerns,  —  remain  as 
a  pleasant  memory,  upon  your  return  to  a 
land  where  no  man  wrould  so  far  forget  his 
manhood  as  to  give  himself  so  completely 
and  without  reserve  to  the  service  of  any 
master  save  Mammon. 

As  old  Japan,  with  its  quaintness,  its 
mediaeval  flavor,  its  feudalism,  its  loyalty, 
its  sense  of  honor,  and  its  transcendental 
contempt  for  money  and  luxury,  recedes 
into  the  past,  and  as  the  memories  of  my 
life  there  grow  dim,  two  figures  stand  out 


324    JAPANESE  GIBLS  AND   WOMEN. 

more  and  more  boldly  from  the  fading 
background,  —  both,  the  figures  of  faithful 
servants.  One,  Yasaku,  the  kurumaya,  a 
very  Hercules,  who  could  keep  close  to  a 
pair  of  coach  horses  through  miles  of  city 
streets,  and  who  never  suffered  mortal  jin- 
rihisha  man  to  pass  him.  My  champion 
in  all  times  of  danger  and  alarm,  but  a 
very  autocrat  in  all  minor  matters,  —  his 
cheery  face,  his  broad  shoulders  with  their 
blue  draperies,  his  jolly,  boyish  voice,  and 
his  dainty,  delicate  hands  come  before  me 
as  I  write,  and  I  wonder  to  what  fortunate 
person  he  is  now  giving  the  intelligent  ser- 
vice that  he  once  gave  so  whole-heartedly 
to  me.  The  other,  0  Kaio,  my  maid,  her 
plain  little  face,  with  its  upturned  eyes, 
growing,  as  the  days  went  by,  absolutely 
beautiful  in  the  light  of  pure  goodness 
that  beamed  from  it.  A  Japanese  Chris- 
tian, with  all  the  Christian  virtues  well  de- 
veloped, she  became  to  me  not  only  a  good 
servant,  doing  her  work  with  conscientious 
fidelity,  but  a  sympathetic  friend,  to  whom 
I  turned  for  help  in  time  of  need ;  and 
whom  I  left,  when  I  returned  to  America, 
with  a  sincere  sorrow  in  my  heart  at  part- 
ing with  one  who  had  grown  to  fill  so  large 


DOMESTIC  SEBVICE.  325 

a  place  in  my  thoughts.  Her  little,  half- 
shy,  half-motheriy  ways  toward  her  big  for- 
eign mistress  had  a  charm  all  their  own. 
Her  pride  and  delight  over  my  progress  in 
the  language;  her  patient  efforts  to  make 
me  understand  new  words,  or  to  under- 
stand my  uncouth  foreign  idioms ;  her  joy, 
when  at  last  I  reached  the  point  where  a 
story  told  by  her  lips  could  be  compre- 
hended and  enjoyed,  —  gave  a  continual  en- 
couragement in  a  task  too  often  completely 
disheartening. 

During  the  last  summer  of  my  stay  in 
Japan,  cutting  loose  from  all  foreigners 
and  foreign  associations,  1  traveled  alone 
with  her  through  the  heart  of  the  country, 
stopping  only  at  Japanese  hotels,  and  car- 
rying with  me  no  supplies  to  eke  out  the 
simple  Japanese  fare.  Through  floods  and 
typhoons  we  journeyed.  Long  days  of 
scorching  heat  or  driving  rain  in  no  way 
abated  her  cheerfulness,  or  lessened  her  de- 
sire to  do  all  that  she  could  for  my  aid  and 
comfort.  Not  one  sad  look  nor  impatient 
word  showed  a  flaw  in  her  perfect  temper ; 
and  if  she  privately  made  up  her  mind 
that  I  was  crazy,  she  never  by  word  or  look 
gave  a  hint    of  her   thought.     Jinrikisha 


326    JAPANESE  GIRLS  AND   WOMEN. 

men  grumbled  and  gave  out;  hotel-keepers 
resented  the  presence  of  my  dog,  or  pre- 
sented extortionate  bills ;  but  0  Kaio's 
good  temper  and  tact  never  failed  her, 
Difficulties  were  smoothed  away  ;  bills  were 
compromised  and  reduced;  the  dog  slept 
securely  by  my  side  on  a  red  blanket  in  the 
best  rooms  of  the  best  hotels ;  and  0  Kaio 
smiled,  told  her  quaint  stories,  amused  me 
and  ministered  to  me,  as  if  I  were  her  one 
object  in  life,  though  husband  and  chil- 
dren were  far  away  in  distant  Tokyo,  and 
her  mother's  heart  yearned  for  her  little 
ones. 


EPILOGUE. 

My  task  is  ended.  One  half  of  Japan, 
with  its  virtues  and  its  frailties,  its  priv- 
ileges and  its  wrongs,  has  been  brought, 
so  far  as  my  pen  can  bring  it,  within  the 
knowledge  of  the  American  public.  If, 
through  this  work,  one  person  setting  forth 
for  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun  goes  bet- 
ter prepared  to  comprehend  the  thoughts, 
the  needs,  and  the  virtues  of  the  noble, 
gentle,  self-sacrificing  women  who  make 
up  one  half  the  population  of  the  Island 
Empire,  my  labor  will  not  have  been  in 
vain. 


INDEX, 


Adoption,  103, 112,  113,  187. 

Agility  of  Japanese,  13. 

Amado,  sliding  wooden  shutters, 
used  to  inclose  a  Japanese 
house  at  night,  23. 

Andon,  a  standing  lamp  inclosed 
in  a  paper  case,  89. 

Ane"  San,  elder  sister  (San,  the 
honorific),  a  title  used  by  the 
younger  children  in  a  family 
in  speaking  to  their  eldest  sis- 
ter, 20. 

Aoyama,  131. 

Apprentices,  309,  310. 

Art  in  common  things,  237-239. 

Artisans,  235-239,  270. 

Babyhood,  1-17  ;  bathing,  10  ; 
conditions  of  life,  6,  7  ;  dress, 
6,  15 ;  food,  10,  11 ;  imperial 
babies,  8,  9  ;  learning  to  talk, 
16 ;  learning  to  walk,  13,  14  ; 
of  lower  classes,  7 ;  of  middle 
classes,  8  ;  of  nobility,  8  ;  skin 
troubles,  11 ;  teething,  12  ;  tied 
to  the  back,  7,  8,  12. 

Baths,  public,  10. 

Beauty,  Japanese  standard  of, 
58  ;  early  loss  of,  122. 

Be-be,  a  child's  word  for  dress, 
16. 

Betrothal,  60. 

Betto,  a  groom  or  footman  who 
cares  for  the  horse  in  the  sta- 
ble and  runs  ahead  of  it  in  the 
road,  62,  71,311,316,  319. 

Birth,  1. 

Breakfast,  89. 

Buddhism,  168,  240;  introduc- 
tion of,  143-145. 

Buddhist  funeral,  131, 132. 

Buddhist  nuns,  155. 

Castles,  151,  157,  169,  171,  173, 

174,  185,  186,  192. 
Chadai,  literally   "tea  money," 


the  fee  given  at  an  inn,  251-* 

253. 

Cherry  blossoms,  28,  146,  166, 
176,  177,  191,  295,  296. 

Childhood.     See  Girlhood. 

Children,  Japanese  compared 
with  American,  19 ;  intellec- 
tual characteristics  of  Japa- 
nese, 41. 

Chinese  characters,  40. 

Chinese  civilization  introduced, 
142. 

Chinese  code  of  morals,  103,  111. 

Christianity,  77,  81, 168,  206,  207. 

Chrysanthemum,  166,  296-298. 

Civilization,  new,  77. 

Concubinage,  85,  111. 

Confectionery,  146. 

Confucius,  103,  168. 

Constitution,  promulgation  of 
the,  114,  276. 

Corea,  conquest  of,  139-143. 

Country  and  city,  278,  279. 

Court,  after  conquest  of  Corea, 
143  -  146  ;  amusements,  145  ; 
costumes,  146  ;  in  early  times, 
138, 139  ;  ladies,  145,  148,  152- 
154  ;  life,  138-168 ;  of  daimio, 
171  ;  of  Shogun,  170,  171 ;  re- 
moval to  Tokyo,  156. 

Courtship,  58. 

Crucifixion,  199,  234. 

Dai  jobu,  "Safe,"  "All  right," 
320. 

Daimio,  a  member  of  the  landed 
nobility  under  the  feudal  sys- 
tem, 169-195  ;  his  castles,  169, 
173  ;  his  courts,  171 ;  his  daugh- 
ters, 175,  177, 180, 182-184, 191, 
192-195  ;  his  journeys  to  Ye- 
do,  171-173  ;  his  retainers,  169, 
171,  173,  175,  177-179, 181, 183, 
185,  186  ;  his  wife,  175,  177, 
182, 192-195  ;  ^elusion  of,  172- 
174. 


330 


INDEX. 


Dancing,  38,287,  288. 

Dancing  girls.     See  Geisha. 

Dango  Zaka,  296. 

Dashi,  a  float  used  in  festival 
processions,  275-278. 

Decency,  Japanese  standard  of, 
255-260. 

Deformity,  caused  by  position  in 
sitting,  9. 

Divorce,  among  lower  classes,  66, 
69,  73 ;  among  higher  classes, 
66,  68 ;  right  of,  granted  to 
women,  66;  right  to  children 
in  case  of,  67,  105. 

Dolls,  feast  of,  28-31. 

Dress,  baby,  6,  15 ;  court,  145, 
146 ;  girl's,  15  ;  in  daimios' 
houses,  187,  192 ;  military,  of 
samurai  women,  188  ;  of  lower 
classes,  126,  127,  128 ;  of  pil- 
grims, 243  ;  showing  age  of 
wearer,  119. 

Education  of  girls,  37-56  ;  diffi- 
culties in  new  system,  52-56 ; 
fault  in  Japanese  system,  39  ; 
in  old  times,  37. 

Education,  higher,  a  doubtful 
help,  79  ;  effect  on  home  life, 
77  ;  producing  repugnance  to 
marriage,  80. 

Education  of  daimio's  daughter, 
177-180. 

Embroidered  robes,  95,  146,  188, 
192. 

Emperor,  111,  114,  134,  151-153, 
155-157,  161,164-166,  292. 

Emperors,  after  introduction  of 
Chinese  civilization,  143-145 ; 
children  of,  164  ;  daughters 
of,  155 ;  early  retirement  of, 
134 ;  in  early  times,  138 ;  se- 
clusion of,  143-145,  155,  156, 
161,  169. 

Empress,  88,  115,  140,  150-168. 

Empress  dowager,  152. 

Engawa,  the  piazza  that  runs 
about  a  Japanese  house,  23. 

Etiquette,  court,  153  ;  in  daimios' 
houses,  177-179  ;  in  the  home, 
19,  20  ;  instruction  in,  46,  47  ; 
of  leaving  service,  316,  317  ; 
towards  servants,  304,  305. 

Fairy  tales,  32. 

Family,  organization  of,  139. 


Fancy  work,  95. 

Father's  relation  to  children, 
100. 

Festivals :  of  dolls,  28  ;  of  flow- 
ers, 27,  99,  295-297;  of  the 
new  year,  25 ;  temple,  270- 
278. 

Feudal  system,  169. 

Feudal  times,  pictures  of,  190- 
192  ;  stories  of,  184-187. 

Flirtation,  unknown  to  Japanese 
girls,  34. 

Flower  arrangement,  42. 

Flower  painting,  47. 

Flower  shows,  270-272. 

Fortune-telling,  281-285. 

Fuji,  58,  242. 

Funeral  service,  131, 132. 

Games  :  battledore  and  shuttle- 
cock, 31 ;  at  court,  145 ;  Go, 
136 ;  hyaku  nin  ishu,  26  ; 
shogi,  136. 

Geisha,  a  professional  dancing 
and  singing  girl,  286-289. 

Geisha  ya,  an  establishment 
where  geishas  may  be  hired, 
286. 

Geta,  a  wooden  clog,  13,  14. 

Ginza,  265. 

Haori,  a  coat  of  cotton,  silk,  or 

crape,  worn  over  the  kimono, 

8. 
Hara-kiri,  suicide  by  stabbing  in 

the  abdomen,  201,  202. 
Haru  Ko,  155-168. 
Haru,  Prince,  113,  152. 
Heimin,    the    class  of  farmers, 

artisans,   and  merchants,  203, 

228,  229. 
Heimin,  class  characteristics  of, 

229-240. 
Hibachi,  a  brazier  for    burning 

charcoal,  30,  72,  136,  307. 
Hideyoshi.     See  Toyotomi. 
Hiiiin,  a  class  of  paupers,  228. 
Hiyei  Zan,  243. 
Holidays,  269. 
Hotels,  247-250. 
Hotel-keepers,  280,  281. 
Household  duties,   training  for, 

21. 
Hyaku  nin  ishu,    "Poems  of  a 

hundred  poets,"  the  name  of  a 

game,  26. 


INDEX. 


331 


Instruction  in  etiquette,  46 ;  in 
flower  arranging,  42  ;  in  flower 
painting,  47  ;  in  music,  41  ;  in 
reading  and  writing,  38  ;  in  tea 
ceremony,  44. 

Inkyo,  a  place  of  retirement, 
the  home  of  a  person  who  has 
retired  from  active  life,  136. 

Inu,  a  dog,  250. 

Ise,  231. 

Iwafuji,  210-213. 

Iwakura,  Prince,  157. 

Iya,  a  child's  word,  denoting  dis- 
like or  negation,  16. 

Iyemitsu,  171,  172. 

Iyeyasu,  169. 

"Japan  Mail,"  159. 
Japanese  language,  16,  40,  179. 
Japanese  literature,  147-150. 
Jimmu  Tenno,  138. 
Jingu  Kogo,  139-143,  147. 
Jinrikisha,       a     light     carriage 

drawn  by  one  or  more  men,  and 

which  will    hold   one   or  two 

persons,   26,  70,  92,  268,  272, 

320  321 
Jinrikisha'  man,   26,   62,  69,  92, 

108,   270,   279,  299,   316,   319- 

324. 
Joro,  a  prostitute,  289-292. 
Joroya,  a  house  of  prostitution, 

290-292. 

Kameido,  296. 

Kakemono,  a  hanging  scroll,  44, 
147,  238. 

Katsuobushi,  a  kind  of  dried 
fish,  5. 

Kimono,  a  long  gown  with  wide 
sleeves,  and  open  in  front, 
worn  by  Japanese  of  all  classes, 
7,  94,  188,  192,  287. 

Kisses,  36. 

Knees,  flexibility  of,  9. 

Kotatsu,  a  charcoal  fire  in  a  bra- 
zier or  a  small  fireplace  in  the 
floor,  over  which  a  wooden 
frame  is  set,  and  the  whole 
covered  by  a  quilt,  33. 

Koto,  a  musical  instrument,  42. 

Kuge",  the  court  nobility,  155, 
170. 

Kura,  a  fireproof  storehouse,  147, 
171,  173. 

Kuruma,  a   wheeled  vehicle   of 


any  kind,  used  as  synonymous 
with  jinrikisha,  which  see. 

Kurumaya,  one  who  pulls  a  kuru- 
ma.    See  Jinrikisha  man. 

Kurushima,  203. 

Kyoto,  156,  171,  240,  241. 

Ladies,  court,  145,  148,  152-154; 

of  daimios'   families,  175-180, 

182-184. 
Ladies-in-waiting,  180-182,  224. 
Loyalty,  33,  75,  197,  206-208, 21 73 

302-304. 

Mam  ma,  a  baby's  word  for  rice 
or  food,  16. 

Manners  of  children,  18. 

Marriage,  57-83  ;  ceremony,  61, 
63  ;  feast,  63  ;  festivities  after, 
63,  64 ;  guests,  63  ;  presents, 
62  ;  registration,  65  ;  to  yoshii, 
104 ;  trousseau,  61. 

Marumagi,  a  style  of  arranging 
the  hair  of  married  ladies,  119. 

Matsuri,  a  festival,  usually  in 
honor  of  some  god,  274-278. 

Meiji  (Enlightened  Rule),  the 
name  of  the  era  that  began 
with  the  accession  of  the  pres- 
ent Emperor  in  1868,  149. 

Mekake,  a  concubine,  111-114. 

Men,  old,  dependence  of,  133; 
amusements  of,  136. 

Merchants,  262-269. 

Military  service  of  women,  188- 
190,  208,  223. 

Missionary  schools,  56. 

Miya  maeri,  the  presentation  of 
a  child  at  the  temple  on  the 
thirtieth  day  after  birth,  3-6. 

Mochi,  a  kind  of  rice  cake,  5,  24, 
25,  65. 

Momotaro,  33. 

Morality,  standards  of,  76. 

Mother,  her  relation  to  children, 
99-102. 

Mother-in-law,  84,  87  ;  O  Kiku's, 
74. 

Mukojima,  191,  295. 

Musical  instruments,  41,  42. 

Names,  3. 

Nara,  247. 

Nikko,  231,  245. 

No,  a  pantomimic  dance,  292, 293, 

Norimono,  a  palanquin,  30. 


332 


INDEX. 


Noshi,  a  bit  of  dried  fish,  usually 
folded  in  colored  paper,  given 
with  a  present  for  good  luck, 
2. 

Nursing  the  sick,  101. 

O,  an  honorific  used  before  many 
nouns,  and  before  most  names 
of  women,  20. 
O  Ba  San,  grandmother,  124. 
O  Ba  San,  aunt,  124. 
Obi,  a  girdle  or  sash,  60. 
Occupations  of  the  blind,  42  ;  of 
the   court,    143-150,  1C5,  166; 
of    the    daimios'   ladies,   175- 
180  ;  of  the  Empress,  156-166  ; 
of    old    people,   136,   120-122, 
124-128  ;    of   old   samurai  wo- 
men,  223,   224;     of   servants, 
299,  304,  306,  308-315,  318  ;  of 
women,  108-110,  85-103,  242- 
256,    279-292,    306,    318;    of 
young  girls,  21-34,  38-47. 
O  Ham,  211-213. 
Oishi,  198,  214. 
Oji,  296. 

O  Jo  Sama,  young  lady,  20. 
O  kaeri,  "  Honorable  return,"  a 
greeting  shouted  by  the  atten- 
dant,  upon    the    master's    or 
mistress's  return  to  the  house, 
100,  315. 
O  Kaio,  324-326. 
O  Kiku's  marriage  and  divorce, 

73,  74. 
Old  age,  privileges  of,  120,  122, 

123  ;  provision  for,  134. 
Old  men,  133,  136. 
O  miage,  a  present  given  on  re- 
turning   from    a    journey    or 
pleasure  excursion,  274. 
Oni,  a  devil  or  goblin,  33. 
Onoye,  210-213. 

Palace,  new,  151-153. 

Parents ,  duties  to,  134 ;  respect 

for,  133. 
Parents-in-law,  84,  87. 
Peasant  women,  108,  240-261. 
Peasantry,  228-240. 
Physicians'  fees,  204. 
Pilgrims,  241,  242. 
Pillow,  89. 

Pleasure  excursions,  99. 
Poems  of  a  hundred  poets,  26. 
Poetry,  26,  148-150.  J 


Presents,  96;  after  a  wedding, 
65;  at  betrothal,  60;  at  miya 
maeri,  4 ;  at  weddings,  62 ; 
how  wrapped,  2 ;  in  honor  of 
a  birth,  1;  of  eggs,  2,  5 ;  of 
money,  204,  205  ;  on  returning 
from  a  journey,  274 ;  on  the 
thirtieth  day  after  birth,  5  ;  to 
servants,  311,  315. 

Prostitutes.     See  Joro. 

Prostitution,  houses  of,  114,  214, 
290. 

Purity  of  Japanese  women,  216- 
219. 

Retirement  from  business,  133. 

Retirement  of  emperors,  134. 

Revenge,  198,  210-214. 

Revolution  of  1868,  76,  221. 

Rice,  red  bean,  3,  5,  65. 

Rin,  one  tenth  of  a  sen,  or  about 
one  mill,  240. 

Ronin,  a  samurai  who  has  lost 
his  master  and  owes  no  alle- 
giance to  any  daimio,  198,  213. 

Sakaki,   the    Cleyera    Japonica, 

98. 
Sake,  wine  made  from  rice,  22, 

G3,  136,  296  ;  white,  29. 
Sama,  or  San,  an  honorific  placed 

after     names,    equivalent     to 

Mr.,  Mrs.,  or  Miss,  20,  73,  124, 

136,  232,  283,  284,  304. 
Samisen,  a  musical  instrument, 

42,  127,  277,  286. 
Samurai,  the  military  class,  42, 

75,  76,  105,  169, 174,  175,  180, 

196-227,232,  263,  302,  303,  307, 

319;     character    of,    197-207; 

spirit  of,  199,  205. 
Samurai  girls  in  school,  226. 
Samurai   women,   character    of, 

207-223  ;  present  work  of,  223- 

327. 
Satsuma  rebellion,  the,  222. 
School  system,  the,  50. 
School,  the   Peeress's,  150,  162, 

163,  182. 
Schools,  missionary,  56. 
Self-possession  of  Japanese  girls, 

47. 
Self-sacrifice,  214-219. 
Sen,   one   hundredth  part   of  a 
yen,  value  about  one  cent,  240, 
273,  298. 


INDEX. 


333 


Servants,  characteristics  of ,  299- 
302;  duties  of,  302-315;  in 
employ  of  foreigners,  299-302  ; 
number  employed,  310,  311 ; 
position  of,  302-310  ;  wages  of, 
311. 

Sewing,  23,  94. 

Shinto,  4,  155. 

Shogi,  Japanese  chess,  136. 

Shogun,  the  Tycoon,  the  Vice- 
roy, or  so-called  temporal  ruler 
of  Jap£:i  under  the  feudal  sys- 
tem, 155,  169,  171,  173,  176, 
185,  186,  191, 194, 197,  208,  224, 
231  -  234,  292  ;  daughter  of, 
176,  194. 

Shogunate,  155, 190, 192,  221,  222. 

Shoji,  sliding  windows  covered 
with  paper,  23,  71. 

Shopping,  264-268. 

Sho-sei,  a  student,  308. 

Silk-mosaic,  95,  192. 

Silkworms,  95,  246. 

Soroban,  an  abacus,  266-268. 

Sumida  River,  173,  295. 

Tabi,  a- mitten-like  sock,  13. 

Ta  ta,  a  baby's  word  for  sock  or 

tabi,  16. 
Taiko  Sama.     See  Toyotomi. 
Tea,  91,  92;  ceremonial,  44,  136, 

176. 
Tea-gardens,  247. 
Tea-houses,  250-255. 
Teachers'  pay,  204. 
Teaching.     See  Instruction. 
Teeth,  blackened  after  marriage, 

63. 
Temple,  4,  120,  129,  240. 
Theatre,  33,  99,  292-294. 
Titles  used  in  families,  20. 
Toes,  prehensile,  15. 
Toilet  apparatus,  30. 
Tokaido,  241 . 
Tokonoma,  the  raised  alcove  in 

a  Japanese  room,  44. 
Tokugawa,  29,  151,  155,  231. 
Tokyo,  49,  69-71,  108,  115. 
"  Tokyo  Mail,"  231. 
Tombs,  visits  to,  98. 


Toyotomi  Hideyoshi,  232. 
Training-school  for  nurses,  158. 

Utsunomiya,  70,  71. 
Uyeno  Park,  296. 

Virtue,  Japanese  and  Western 
ideas  of,  215-219. 

Visits,  after  marriage,  63 ;  in 
honor  of  a  birth,  1,  2  ;  New 
Year's,  25 ;  to  parents,  98 ;  to 
tombs  of  ancestors,  98. 

Wakamatsu,  208,  222. 

Wedding.     See  Marriage. 

Widows,  childless,  123. 

Wife,  childless,  102  ;  duties  of, 
85-99  ;  in  great  houses,  92 ; 
relation  to  husband,  84;  re- 
lation to  parents-in-law,  84 ; 
social  relations,  91. 

Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  111. 

Women,  in  the  city,  279-298  ; 
occupations  of,  85-103,  108- 
110,  242-256,  306,  318  ;  position 
of,  17-22,  35,  36,  57,  65-68,  76- 
88,  90,  91,  93,  99-118, 120-124, 
132,  133,  139, 143, 145, 146, 148, 
168,  189,  190, 208, 216-219, 223- 
227,  242-247,  260,  261,  279,  292, 
298,  306,  318 ;  purity  of,  216- 
219. 

Women,  old,  appearance  of,  119, 
122,  124,  126;  examples  of, 
124,  126-129  ;  in  Japanese  pic- 
tures, 132. 

Yamato  Dake\  215. 

Yasaku,  324  ;  marriage  and  di- 
vorce of,  69. 

Yase,  243,  244. 

Yashiki,  a  daimio's  mansion  and 
grounds,  169,  171,  173,  311, 
313. 

Yedo.     See  Tokyo. 

Yoshii,  an  adopted  son,  104. 

Yumoto,  245. 

Zori,  a  straw  sandal,  13. 


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